


Error 404 SOUL Not Found

by Poker



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Errortale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Inktale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Angst, Breaking the Fourth Wall, F/M, Fluff, Frisk/Chara uses they/them, Gen, Inktale Sans, More AUs to be added, Multi, No Smut, Nonbinary Chara and Frisk, Occasional swearing, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader Is Not Chara, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader is affectionate, Reader remembers resets, Reader-Insert, Reverse Harem, Sans Makes Puns, puns, snow ball fights
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-06-23 00:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15594525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poker/pseuds/Poker
Summary: Yeah, you liked Undertale but you didn’t expect one day you’d wake up in a white void and meet a skeleton there.But times changed and with a bet putting you under a time limit, you’ll have to track down your SOUL in the wide Multiverse.Hey! At least there’s cute skeletons and most are happy to help and allow you to befriend them. SOUL shards are a dangerous thing to have floating around in the AUs after all. You never know who might try to snatch one.





	1. An UnaVOIDable Bet

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Glitch](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12726867) by [LazyRainDancer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyRainDancer/pseuds/LazyRainDancer). 



> Undertale is owned by the fantastic Toby Fox! I don’t really own the premise but I do own part of this plot, I’m happy to say!
> 
> Trigger Warning:  
> Puns

In the end, it isn’t the static that wakes you up but the silence. Complete and absolute silence. None of the chattering of passerby or the shifting of grass in the wind.

Not even the silence that warns of an approaching predator.

You eyes flutter open slowly and you blink. Once. Twice. The world still seemed blurry through your sleep fogged eyes.

Then the pain hit.

You grimace, closing your eyes again and roll on to your side to curl up, pressing your hands to your chest. It hurt, not like a punch or a stab, but a deep pulsing pain right where your heart was. Cold but not in the nice numb sort of way. More like the cold that started to burn, that made every breeze over your skin feel like fire. Was this a heart attack? Fuck, you were in college, organs messing up should be further along in the road. College age was supposed to be the live fast don’t care age.

A short wheeze at that thought escaped your lips and you grimaced. Laughing hurt. In your pain fogged state, that actually seemed more frustrating than the chest pain. Stupid brain with bad priorities

How did you even get here?

Last you remembered, you had been just ducking into your classroom for your first class. You remembered laughing at a stupid conversation you overheard, something about the futility of egg shells. Stupid college stuff.

Then nothing.

Wherever you were though, it wasn’t a hospital. Not a good one at least. There was still no noise, not any from your classroom either.

The pain finally seemed to ebb and slowly you uncurled, still keeping a hand over your heart. It still hurt but lesser, an ache instead of agony.

“If my kidneys were stolen, I should get my tuition back.” You mumbled, trying for humor and wincing again. On the bright side, at least you weren’t deaf. Unless you imagined the sound of your voice which seemed a little out there to you but hey, right now you would believe anything.

“Testing testing.” You mumbled. Okay probably not deaf. That was good. Still didn’t explain the absolute silence though. If you got kidnapped, a thought that seemed more likely by the second, you better get paid back. You were paying what seemed like an arm and a leg for your classes, the least the college could do when it came to nefarious organ stealers kidnapping you was pay you back.

Hopefully you weren’t in some unsavory hospital. The thought of that sent a shiver down your spine. You could still feel the weight of your phone in your hoodie pocket though, looks like whatever happened didn’t mess with it. You smile, feeling a little better. Good thing, that was your baby, with all your numbers and class notes stored inside. Even just the thought of having to crowdsource the relevant notes filled you with dread.

“Enough stalling I guess.” You said, opening your eyes once again. Enough of being dead to the world. Then frowned.

“What the everloving hell.”

White. White as far as your eyes could see. Not the sterile white of a hospital room or the offwhite of a cloudy sky but a white void as far as you could see. Which was pretty damn far. Whoever kidnapped you should get a better interior decorator. Maybe some paint or glitter at the very least.

You sat up slowly, wincing as the pain seem to surge and then ebb back. One hand over your chest, the other dropping to your hoodie pocket, you glanced around curiously. Panic briefly warred with curiosity and lost.

Surprise! More white. How fabulous. You groan dramatically, withdrawing your phone from your pocket. “No windows, no doors. Nothing but a white abyss. Organ traffickers must live in an anime world with that brand of logic or something.” Panic seized you, making you fumble your phone. All the humor you had managed to muster disappeared.

Were you… dead? It’d explain the pain and the white abyss as well as the silence that was beginning to get on your last nerve.

You bit down on your lip harshly, bringing yourself back to reality before you could follow that thread too far. Hell no, you weren’t dead, you refused to be dead. Not like this. Panic turned to anger and you turned on your phone. You’d get through this.

Please let the map app work, please let the map app work.

That no bars or internet symbol blinked back at you and you hissed out a curse. Of course, the cherry on top of this day. No messages either. You flipped through apps. The map app couldn’t pinpoint your location. Joy.

At the very least, the battery wasn’t going down though. You smiled at that, would’ve been nice to have that around during a long boring class right after another long class which had killed your battery and left you defeated at your desk more than once.

You purse your lips, slipping your phone back into your pocket. Maybe if you started walking, you could find a signal. Or really any sign of life would be welcome at this point.

How long did it take to go crazy?

“You think Death would at least give me some dignity and show up if I was dead.” You said, glancing up. The sky was still an endless white.

“I ain’t death but I can do the killing part.” You stiffened as something finally broke the silence, whirling around to see the owner of the voice.

Strings caught you part way, wrapping around your arms and chest and lifting you up off the floor to dangle in mid air. A few tore your hand away from your chest and you kicked out, trying to rip them away.

The ones around your rib cage tightened painfully, you whined as the chest pain seemed to resurge, forcing all the fight out of you. You glance down, eyes widening. You could see the blue strings wrapped around your chest and legs, incredibly strong despite their fragile look.

You went limp in the strings, breathing hard as waves of pain washed through you before it stopped. Strings slipped around your neck, an ever present noose. Curiosity fought with panic again and was utterly crushed. You took a few deep breaths, trying not to hyperventilate out of fear.

A short laugh bubbles from your lips instead. If it was time to go, might as well have some fun. “You could’ve just asked nicely to hang out with me.” You said, giggling at your own terrible joke. Puns, the lifeblood of comedy. If this situation had any good points, it’s that you could already see an easy set up for a few more and the thought filled you with glee.

Probably not a good thing but you had been really stifled at your new school in terms of punning.

A low chuckle and you glanced up and froze, eyes widening.

A black skeleton looked back at you with red and yellow eyes with blue streaks like tear tracks along their cheeks, outline seeming to fuzz right in front of your eyes. A bluish black jack and shorts paired with fabulous black slippers. The blue strings around you led back to a few wrapped around their yellow and red fingers. There was a wide grin over their face, revealing yellow teeth. Error signs were present all over their body, floating with no sign of outside support.

You knew exactly who this was and that thought filled you with excitement and fear.

“Error.” You breathed and their grin seemed to widen.

The rational part of your mind pointed out this could be a very vivid hallucination or dream. You couldn’t really be hanging in the air by blue strings controlled by a fictional character, it completely violated the laws of reality.

Deep down, you knew that wasn’t true. The strings were too tight, pressing into your skin, the pain in your chest too real, impossible for a mere dream.

The irrational part of your mind was a squealing mess of excitement and delight. Undertale! That’s where you kinda sorta were!

“That’s funny abomination. I don’t remember introducing myself.” They said. You flinched slightly, their voice sounded like a radio losing signal, background static beginning to overtake their words. Verging on uncomfortable to your ears and you made an abortive move to raise your hand to your ears to drown it out. The strings tighten, warning of the terribleness of that idea and you instantly stopped moving as if you had been stung.

“Hey, Sorry, I don’t mean trouble. As you can see, I’m a bit tied up here.” Another snort, the grin not quite as terrifying now and you breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

You weren’t a total Undertale nerd, never played the game. But by god if those AUs hadn’t sucked you in with their pretty art and fan fiction.

And wasn’t this just a scene right out of fan fiction, a fan finding themselves facing a character from their fandom?

Except said character being a mentally unstable skeleton who murdered what they classified as abominations and you apparently being classified as an abomination. You paled, fear overtaking excitement. Error was not nice to glitches in the comics or fan fiction.

You were so screwed.

Error took a step closer. “Funny. Very funny. Now what’s a glitch like you doing in the Anti Void?”

“I don’t know!” The strings tightened and your voice jumped up another octave. “I don’t know, I really don’t know how I got here!”

Error probably knew more than you did considering your knowledge level had hit zero when you woke up and hadn’t moved since to your frustration.

The grin slipped into something more dangerous and the scraps of happiness you had been clinging stubbornly to slipped away. “Well, nothing to it then. Guess I’ll just deal with you here and now. Thanks for saving me the effort of tracking ya down.” Error said, lifting his hand higher.

And then one of the strings in the air around you disappeared into your chest.

You yelped in fear and surprise, jerking away as best as you could. The strings tightened, holding you in place, and you hissed, eyes still fixed on the string that seemed to pass right through your hoodie.

It felt like someone had reached into your chest and started moving your organs around, nudging them to and fro in search of something. Not caring if one or two ended up in the wrong place.

Your stomach roiled uneasily at the feeling and you closed your eyes, not wanting to see your own SOUL or whatever it was be shattered. The taste of blood filled your mouth as you chewed on your lip, trying to force down a scream of pain.

It hurt, oh god it hurt, not as bad as when you woke up but so much anyway. Like having electricity forced under your skin compared to being stabbed with an icicle. You prayed that it would end as soon as possible.

But at the same time, you hoped it wouldn’t because the pain meant you were still alive.

You knew you should have just stayed in your dorm room and slept in today, tests and notes be damned.

A scream of frustration interrupted your panic, and your eyes flew open.

If Error had been angry before, he looked pissed off now. The glitching has worsened, spots on his body discoloring and error signs flashing faster around the edges of his body and you blinked, trying to force down a headache out of sheer will. Alright, get your head back in the game. You were still alive and that thought filled you with hope.

The string jerked back out of your chest and you breathed a sigh of pure relief, hunching over slightly as best you could. The electricity in your chest seemed to fade away as soon as the string vanished and it felt like the best thing in the world right now. It almost drowned out the fact Error looked like he was about to throttle you.

“Why the hell is your SOUL not reacting?” He demanded.

You raised your head and giggled weakly, happiness slipping back. Oh the opening was perfect. “I don’t know, maybe you should put a little more heart in your work.” You said.

If you were gonna go down, you were gonna go down using this extra time to pun at the skeleton.

His face froze for a second before he moved, eyes narrowing. “Unless…” Error said. You pouted. He had ignored your magnificent pun! That thing was perfect! The set up was smooth! Quite possibly the culmination of your life’s punwork so far.

Dude really was a jerk.

You yelped as puns and needles ran up your spine. “Warning please!” You said reflexively. Error scoffed.

“Why would I care about something like that?” He said. Ah, touché Glitchy skeleton, you win this round, you thought to yourself, resisting the urge to giggle.

Huh. The lack of strings in your chest and the adrenaline rush was working wonders for your panic levels. The constant urge to hyperventilate has stopped at least.

Words seem to rearrange themselves in the open air in front of you.

*CHECK  
HP: 0/0 3 ATK 1 DEF  
Equipped: Faded Hoodie  
Not from here

You huffed at seeing the words. Barely any attack or defense? Couldn’t the universe have thrown you a bone here?

On the second glance at the floating words, icy prickles of panic started to creep back in and your breathing quickened.

No HP, nada, none. Even Sans, the technically weakest monster in the game had one HP. And you had none.

How did that work? Shouldn’t you be dead or did humans work on some freaky system out here in the white abyss? You desperately hoped it was the latter but the former stuck with you.

If you leave, will you die?

A fuzzy laugh from Error. “I can’t believe this! You’re soulless! Just like the stupid AU Guardian Guy!” Your heart seemed to plummet like a lead balloon, taking up residence in your stomach.

You never played Undertale but humans were supposed to have SOULS, bright colorful hearts that determined some trait about them or showed some inner snapshot of their personality. The only canon character without a soul was Flowey and that guy wasn’t exactly the most sane person in the game.

But then again, you didn’t have one either.

You dig your nails into your palm, trying to stave down a panic attack at the thought.

“Soulless? How did I lose my SOUL? Can you lose a SOUL? Did I misplace it with my keys or something?” You babbled. “Maybe I just don’t have a soul.” Try to remain positive, you thought. Undertale was a game in your world, it stood to reason that maybe some things didn’t cross over.

Deep down, you could hear the lie echoing in that sentence.

The words faded away and you weren’t sorry at all to see them go.

Error waved a hand, moving the strings holding you ever so slightly. “Nah, if that was the case, you wouldn’t read in the CHECK at all. No SOUL, no CHECK. But you did have a SOUL so you still show up. Looks like I got me an interesting glitch this time.”

The loose strings around you suddenly tightened again and you hissed, fingers twitching. “So what’d you do, glitch? From the looks of the coding, you scattered your SOUL across the Multiverse, crashing in here so rudely.” Error’s eyes seemed to glow now. Seeing the glow in person was way more terrifying that the fan art you had seen before. “Planning on infecting them with your glitchiness?”

“No, I-“ Strings curled around your throat, cutting you off. You kicked out reflexively, only to be forced back by more blue strings.

“Well you just pissed me off. Now I gotta get rid of you the old fashioned way and then track down all the little pieces and destroy them.” Error’s hands curled into fists and the strings tightened painfully and you gasped, struggling to draw in precious air.

No no no you were not gonna die here, not to some fake skeleton, not until you figured out what the hell was going on.

No.

“I want to make a bet!” You finally wheezed out through the constriction around your throat.

The strings loosened slightly. Still painful but less like they were about to cut through your skin. You took a few deep shuddering breaths, locking eyes with the skeleton in front of you.

Error looked… amused for lack of a better word. You fumbled for the right words, dearly wishing you had thought this through before talking. Story of your life.

“You, ah, said my SOUL was scattered around right? So I want to make a bet. If I can find all the pieces, I can go back to my world and not be a glitch anymore.” You said, mind in overdrive. The strings weren’t tightening, that was good. You could do this. “You might even find out what glitch caused me.”

“Ain’t gonna work. Soon as you step out of the Anti Void, time’s gonna start working again and without a SOUL, you’re dead. You’re too weak magic and coding wise to survive in the AUs.” Error said, rocking back and forth slightly. You frowned. There goes the half formed plan to jump home as soon as possible after tricking him into letting you go.

You hesitate briefly before continuing, desperation fueling your word babble. “Couldn’t you do something about that until I get the first piece so I don’t fall apart? And then the bet is still possible.” Error shrugged, shifting the strings holding you yet again and you squeaked.

“Maybe. Or I could just kill you now and track them down myself.” He said, grinning viciously. You offered a weak grin in reply, hyper aware of the strings still curled around your throat.

“But then you’ll have to deal with all that work when you could be destroying other glitches.” You said. Hopefully something would stick if you kept spewing excuses.

Suddenly you were dropped heavily onto the ground. You screamed from surprise more than pain, immediately pushing yourself off of your stinging hands and knees to your feet.

The strings were still curled around you but not keeping you in the air now. The solid ground under your feet felt like a reassurance.

Error snorted at your panic. Rude. “I’ll take the bet, I got better things to do then chase a bunch of SOUL shards all over the Multiverse.” You nearly smiled again but was cut off by the strings tightening around your throat, choking off your air supply.

“But if you even think about lying or squirming out of the bet, you dirty glitch, I’ll make your death agonizingly slow. You’ll beg for mercy I won’t give. I win, you don’t collect your SOUL by the end of the month, you get to suffer a long slow death. You win, and I’ll leave ya alone.” Error said. The strings around your throat released and you wheezed, drawing in as much air as you could. “What to you say? I’ll even keep ya together until you find the first shard and help you jump around. The Multiverse is a big place after all.”

Oh god, you just volunteered yourself to be a Glitchy murderous destroyer’s new form of entertainment. Alright, you could do this.

You rubbed at your sore throat. It was stupid, reckless, and might end in a slow agonizing death.

Key word: might. As opposed to a quick death now.

No contest in your mind.

“Deal.” Not like you could negotiate a longer time limit like you wanted, you had a feeling he’d make it lower just to spite you.

“This is gonna be inter- what are you doing?” Error said. You looked down at your outstretched hand.

“Usually you shake hands to solidify a bet.” You said. Why was he looking at your hand like it was going to spontaneously mutate teeth and bite him?

Oh. Too late, you remembered the haphephobia.

Your heart (or what was left of it?) dropped and you bit your bottom lip. Hopefully he wouldn’t just kill you for the mistake, screw the bet.

“I knew that!” Error said. You peered up and blinked. Was that what you thought it was? Sure enough a blue flush had spread across his cheeks, barely noticeable.

You resisted the urge to squeal at the cuteness. Nope, he was a destroyer who a few minutes ago was choking you and looked forward to your death.

But that flush of embarrassment was so adorable!

Against your will and the valiant struggle you put up, the corner of your mouth quirked up in a smile.

You slowly pulled back your hand. “We don’t have to do it if it makes you uncomfortable.” You said. Something grabbed your outstretched hand and you jumped slightly, nearly stumbling forward a step.

Error was closer now, close enough you could see the individual errors in his eyes. He frowned down at your hands. “I’m not uncomfortable, I just needed a minute.” He said.

You grinned internally, shaking his hand slowly before pulling back. He seemed all too happy to let it end, taking a large step back.

Maybe this month wouldn’t be so bad.

“No cheating.” You said. Error scowled at you, good mood gone.

“I should be saying that too you, dirty glitch that you are.” He said. You grinned, the expression coming easier to you now.

“Eh, just checking for any hidden strings.” You said, winking. You were rewarded by a short huff of laughter this time and your small grin turned into a grin of victory.

“You’re pretty good at those, a heartless punisher. Should get rid of you before you go on a pun spree across the Multiverse.” Error said. You froze for a second and then broke into a fit of giggles. Did he just pun back at you? Was this happening right now?

It almost made the underlying threat in the second sentence worth it. He kind of sounded friendly now.

Error waved a hand and the loose strings uncurled from your arms and legs, hovering in the air around you. Leaving just a band of string around your upper chest and a blue string necklace around your neck.

“The ones around your chest will keep ya from crumbling and losing before the first shard. The ones around your neck are insurance.” He said. Your smile wavered. “If ya need something, play a game of cat's cradle with the ones around your neck. Maybe I’ll even answer.”

Cat’s cradle. You knew a few shapes, boredom and an extra pair of shoelaces were the cause of that. This would be easy as pie! His smile dropped for a second.

“Don’t play the strings like a guitar though.” You shivered at the icy tone.

“I won’t. I promise.” You said, mercilessly squashing down the impulse to do just that. You weren’t going to jeopardize this new lease on life anytime soon. The grin returned.

“Let’s try… hm.” You jumped as the white world seemed to glitch to your right, creating one of his infamous memory screens/portals. “I’m thinking this one for the first. Bit of a good joke.” Well that didn’t sound ominous at all. You took a step to the side, peering closer at the scene in the portal. A snowy forest with no recognizable landmarks. Something in your chest seemed to pull you towards the scene.

“I’d wish you luck but I’m hoping you lose.” Error said. You glanced back at him.

“I’m not going to lose.” You swore, grinning widely. You would put your SOUL back together and return home, no matter how many universes you had to travel through.

The strings around your chest moved and you yelped as they dragged you forward even as you stubbornly dug in your heels.

With one final tug, you were sent tumbling out of the Anti Void.

Traveling through the portal was like feeling pins and needles all over while being dunked in a cold bath and you shivered. It almost made falling into a snowbank right after seem tame in comparison.

Than the icy cold of the snow hit you and you immediately regretted that thought. Wow, no, the portal was nothing next to the chill seeping through your clothes.

You jumped to your feet as fast as you could, brushing off the snow. Thank god for the cold snap earlier that had made you wear your hoodie and sweatpants today. Otherwise, you probably would have frozen your butt off before finding your first SOUL shard.

Even so, you groaned hands dropping back to your sides. You were pretty soaked and contrary to being Underground, a chill breeze still swept through, seemingly finding all the holes in your hoodie. You shivered, rubbing at your arms to warm them.

You could practically hear the glitchy laughter echoing in the air. “Rude.” You hissed, reaching up to adjust your hood and hide the string necklace as best you could.

It was kind of an odd necklace too, a large loop of string with no knots to show where it had been tied. Twisted several times into a few smaller loops to go around your neck. Actually it did feel like just the right size for a game of cat’s cradle. Error knew what he was doing.

Sighing in defeat, you dropped your hands away from your neck as it refused to be hidden completely under your hood and collar. You looked up, and was quietly relieved to see a dull stone ceiling far above instead of endless white.

You lingered on that sight for a bit. You were alive. Not in the Anti Void. And already on the path to winning the bet. The thought of that brought a smile to your face as you you slowly spun in a circle to take in the snowy world around you.

So… now what? “I was kinda hoping for some magic, some SOUL shenanigans and then bam, not soulless anymore.” You said, trying to fill the silence. It wasn’t quite the complete silence of the Anti Void, but it still seemed to grate on your ears.

Looks like there will be no mysterious magic help today. Not even a tug from the strings around your neck. “North looks nice.” You said, putting your hands in your hoodie pocket to conserve some warmth. North was the route you were supposed to go in when out in the wilderness right? You think. At least the chill of the air slightly numbed your still sore hands and knees.

Maybe your phone had signal now? Snowdin or the Ruins should be in either direction, and Frisk had signal during the game though who knows what place Error dropped you into. You decided to stick with heading north and check your phone for signal again later.

That still left you with quite a conundrum though. Which way was North? You spun in a circle again, frowning. The way in front of you looked like a North, trees looked snowier. Maybe. You shrugged, trudging off in what you hoped was a northward direction.

You hadn’t even gone ten feet when there was a crunch of snow under feet behind you and you nearly jumped out of your skin, bolting forward another step, your heart pounding in your chest.

“Don’t you know how to greet a new friend? Turn around and shake my hand.”

Well this day was just going to be a pile of sugar and sprinkles, you could already tell.

 

 


	2. Don’t Look So Blue

You whirl around, mouth opening to stammer out an excuse, explanation, anything that probably wouldn’t end in your death. Hey, it worked for Error.

Only to freeze in your tracks, mouth still hanging open.

This is how I go, you thought numbly. Sinking into a diabetic coma out of pure cuteness. Retinas fried by the light of adorably starry eyes. Cinnamon roll has been spotted in the wild, pure sugar flooding the air around them.

And it will be worth it. You have no regrets. Bet? What’s that?

“OH! DID I SCARE YOU? I APOLOGIZE FOR STARTLING YOU!” Said Underswap Sans.

You could practically feel the diabetes percolating within your body. Would it be bad manners to hug him out of nowhere?

You had known of this AU but never had you expected it to be even better in person! He was wearing the absolutely amazing battle armor but his was a gray top with shoulder pads and black shorts. A light blue bandana carefully tied around his neck, with gloves and boots to match. His eyes were bright blue stars but as you watched, the slowly faded back to round blue eye lights as his face fell.

Oh no. Oh no, you had worried the tiny ball of sunshine that was Swap Sans.

“No. No, you didn’t scare me.” You rushed out. “I was simply awestruck by your presence and just couldn’t reply.”

He beamed, eyes becoming stars again and you found yourself grinning back. He even had round cheeks, a skeleton should not look so adorably cuddly.

“GOOD! IT WOULD BE VERY UN-ROYAL GUARD LIKE TO TERRIFY NEWCOMERS!” His eyes narrowed. “THOUGH YOU DON’T LOOK LIKE A MONSTER.”

You let your shoulders slouch, pulling your hands out of your pockets. “Maybe because I’m not?” You said teasingly.

Sans gasped, hands flying up to his cheeks. “ARE YOU SAYING YOU’RE A HUMAN?” You giggle at his excitement.

“I’m not saying I’m not.” You said. Sans was practically bouncing up and down in place now and his enthusiasm was infectious. You felt like you could take on the world.

You were totally taking back what you said earlier, Error was definitely not a jerk. Well, he was but he put you in Underswap. Not Horrortale or a host of more terrifying and dangerous AUs, at least not right off the bat. You’d have to keep your eye out for something nice as a thank you.

You were dragged out of your thoughts by Sans stepping closer. “THIS IS AMAZING! FINALLY MY CLEVER RIDDLES SHALL BE PUT TO USE! AND WHEN YOU ARE THOROUGHLY JAPED BY THEM, I CAN NOTIFY ALPHYS! AND FINALLY BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!” He said.

Your grin faded.

Honestly, you would have loved to run the puzzle gauntlet and have fun in Underswap. But you chest ached, reminding you that you didn’t have time to waste.

“HUMAN? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” Sans said. You jerked out of your thoughts, smiling weakly back at him. He looked worried again.

“I’m okay. I just don’t have the time to run a riddle gauntlet, especially as one as diabolical as I’m sure you have. Even if I did, you kind of wouldn’t get anything out of it.” You said, shifting uneasily. How did the ‘hey I come from a different universe and also I don’t have a SOUL, so sorry, have you seen an unattended SOUL shard around’ talk go?

“AND WHY WOULD THAT BE?” Sans said. He looked deeply concerned now and you felt a flutter of warmth at that thought.

“I, kind of, have no SOUL at the moment?” You instantly winced at your clumsy phrasing. Probably could have said that better. “You can CHECK my stats if you want. I’m not lying.” You continued.

Sans cocked his head to the side. For a second there was a quick puns and needles feeling, better than before. The strings around your upper chest seemed to tighten for a few seconds and you twitched.

You sighed, closing your eyes as you saw the words appear. Still 0/0 HP. So much for the Anti Void messing with your SOUL or CHECK. You didn’t want to have to stare at the confirmation of your possibly inevitable death.

And nearly jumped out of your skin as Sans barreled into you, arms wrapping around your waist.

“HUMAN! ARE YOU OKAY? I’M UNSURE IF HUMANS ARE THE SAME AS MONSTERS BUT THIS DOES NOT SEEM HEALTHY! OOH! I CAN BRING YOU TO UNDYNE! SHE COULD TOTALLY HELP WITH THIS!” Sans said, voice muffled by his face being pressed into your hoodie.

You unfroze slowly, wrapping your arms around Sans and hugging him back. He’s so warm, you thought. And for a walking skeleton, really comfy to hug too. You ignored the burn in your eyes, pulling back to smile at the small skeleton.

“I don’t think it would but thanks anyway Blueberry.” You frowned as Sans stiffened slightly in your arms. Did you say something wrong? You mentally rewound the conversation and swore. Slip of the tongue. He just fit it so perfectly.

“BLUEBERRY?” Sans said, sounding so adorably suspicious it made your heart hurt. How had Alphys managed to stand up against this cuteness and keep him out of the Royal Guard? Then again, you wanted to keep him as far away from danger as possible.

He had more ATK and DEF than you but still. Principal of the matter.

“It’s a nickname.” You said finally. “There’s kind of quite a few timelines and apparently my SOUL was scattered around them so I’ll be jumping around a lot. I’d like to keep all my friends separate, you know?” 

“WOWSERS! YOU CONSIDER US FRIENDS? ALREADY?” Blueberry said. You made an undignified sound as your heart melted.

“Absolutely.” You said. “Who wouldn’t want the Magnificent Sans as a friend?”

“MWEH HEH HEH! YOU ARE CORRECT! I’LL BE HAPPY TO ACCEPT YOUR OFFER OF FRIENDSHIP! THE NICKNAME YOU CHOSEN FITS SOMEONE AS AMAZING AS MYSELF.” Blueberry said, stepping back and posing. The strange underground breeze caught his scarf cape, making it billow out.

“So cool.” You said. Blueberry visibly lit up. “I’m glad you liked the nickname. You wear blue and you’re really sweet so it just seemed perfect for you.”

A light blue blush grew along Blueberry’s cheeks. “I-I’M HAPPY WITH THE NICKNAME! FRIEND!”

You cooed, pulling him back into a hug. “I’m happy to hear that.” Blueberry hugged you back tightly. Eventually after a few seconds, you were forced to release, sighing mentally. Stupid time limit.

“I guess if my SOUL shard isn’t around here, I should probably move on.” You said, struggling to keep the sadness out of your voice. You really didn’t want to have to stop this now but Blueberry probably has responsibilities and you doubt his brother would appreciate you dragging Blueberry into something like this.

So you wave hesitantly before turning and walking away.

You only get a couple of step before hearing the footsteps of someone following you. You stopped. “So, are we, uh, walking in the same direction or what?” Blueberry stopped at your side.

“AS A FUTURE MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD, IT’S MY DUTY TO HELP THOSE IN NEED! AND AS YOUR FRIEND, I SHOULD HELP YOU!” He said, beaming at you. You couldn’t help but grin back.

“Don’t you have a job? And patrolling to do?” You said, nervously fiddling with the sleeves of your hoodie.

“THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF MY NEW FRIEND IS MORE IMPORTANT!” Blueberry declared. You felt your heart skip a beat.

“Well, guess I can’t refuse the help of the magnificent Blueberry, my new friend.” Oh, there was the blush again. You giggled, striding forward. Blueberry kept up with you easily.

“So seen any SOUL shards around here lately?” You said faux casually. If only this was more like a video game instead of a real world then you could have had a blaring quest marker or a straight path right to where you needed to go.

But, you think eyeing the skeleton walking next to you, you might not have been able to chat to Blueberry the same way. And wouldn’t that have been horrible.

“NO!” Blueberry said, frowning. “IN FACT, I HAVEN’T HEARD ANYTHING! EVEN MY LAZY BROTHER HASN’T SAID A THING!” 

“It probably should be nearby.” You said slowly. Error probably wouldn’t arrange for you to lose somehow right off the bat. Or would he? The guy seemed mercurial as fuck, who knows what he was thinking.

Blueberry glanced at you, taking in your frown. “DO NOT WORRY! I PROMISED TO HELP YOU FIND IT AND I WILL! THE MAGNIFICENT BLUEBERRY SHALL NOT FAIL YOU! WITH BOTH OF US WORKING TOGETHER, IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE YOUR MISSING SOUL SHARD IS FOUND!”

“Thanks Blueberry. That means a lot.” You said, throat feeling a little tight. You walked in silence for a while, admiring the snowy landscape around you. It seemed like Blueberry was nudging you away from civilization. Keeping you out of sight for safety. The thought of that kind of made you smile.

“So. A brother? I kinda heard you had one but I admit it wasn’t much.” You said sheepishly, rubbing the back of your head. You knew a good bit about Underswap Papyrus but this was different, wasn’t it? They weren’t really real before.

The way Blueberry lit up, those eye lights becoming even brighter, filled you with an inexplicable sense of joy. Completely drowning out the pain in your chest.

“PAPY CAN BE QUITE LAZY AND WELL.” Here Blueberry’s face scrunched up. “HE NEVER STOPS MAKING PUNS. BUT AS HIS COOL BRO, I WILL SAY HE IS JUST AS MAGNIFICENT AS ME! MWEH HEH HEH! HOW COULD HE NOT BE WITH A BRO AS COOL AS ME?”

“ _Icy_.” You said, hand coming up to cover your mouth. “Your bro sounds as cool as ice. _Snow_ doubt about it.”

Blueberry whined. “HUMAN! NO! I SEE MY BROTHER HAS INFECTED YOU SOMEHOW WITH HIS DASTARDLY PUNMAKING!”

You couldn’t help it. You burst out into giggles, ignoring the painful construction of your chest. “Puns are great Blueberry. Don’t tell me you see them as a _pun_ ishment.”

Blueberry groaned, facepalming. “FRIEND. STOP.” You flushed a little at the friend part.

“ _Snow_ chance. _Chill_ Blueberry, puns are gre-.” Snow dripped off of your face. You boggled at Blueberry, frozen midstep.

They folded their arms, glancing off to the side. “I HAVE TAKEN MEASURES TO STOP YOU! FEAR NOT FRIEND, THE MAGNIFICENT S-BLUEBERRY CAN CURE YOU OF YOUR PUNNISH WA-“ He stopped as your own improvised snowball smacked him in the face.

You giggled. “That was a declaration of war.” You said. Slowly your giggles trailed off as Blueberry didn’t respond, still frozen. “Shoot, are you okay?” Did you hurt him somehow?

Those blue eyes narrowed. “THAT MEANS WAR THEN FRIEND. ONE I SHALL WIN!” He said, striking a pose.

“We’ll see about that!” You said, already backpedaling. Blueberry whooped, throwing himself to the ground to start scooping up armfuls of snow.

You were part way through packing your first snow decahedron when a swarm of glowing blue snow dodecahedrons flew at you. You were forced to throw yourself to the ground to dodge, rolling back to your feet. Only slipping slightly as your left foot hit an icy patch.

“Not fair!” You said, lobbing your first slightly damaged snowball at Blueberry’s head. He blocked with another snowball, crumbling both and was already hard at work on a second volley.

“ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR! THE MAGNIFICENT BLUEBERRY SHALL NOT LOSE!” He yelled back. 

You could feel your cheeks hurting from your wide grin as you dove behind a tree for shelter. Snow flurries flew around you as the snow dodecahedrons hit the other side.

Without magic, you were screwed. Where did Blueberry learn to be a snowball fight master? You leaned around the tree to throw your next snowball, giggling as it managed to smack Blueberry in the chest. He wobbled and you yelped, jerking back behind the tree as his third volley went every which way instead of straight for you. Another snowball smacked you in the knee and you swore, wobbling slightly.

You were down but not out. You will avenge yourself, god damn it!

You dig your nails into your tree shield, tilting your head up. A low snow covered branch. Rough enough bark that you could climb. Perfect.

But you better be quick because otherwise you’d be a sitting duck and utterly defenseless against Blueberry’s barrage.

You hopped up, digging your nails into the bark just above your head and slowly dragged yourself up the tree inch by inch. Your arms were already burning from the strain and you resisted the urge to wrap your legs around the tree for stability. Especially as another snowball burst on the other side, sending snowflakes into your face.

“MWEH HEH HE! FRIEND! DO YOU CONCEDE?” The snowballs were definitely getting closer. You could heard the crunching of snow under boots.

You gritted your teeth and used the last of your energy to drag yourself a little above the branch you had selected. You carefully poked your head out and looked down.

Almost serendipitously, Blue had stopped underneath the branch. His smile had faded slightly. “FRIEND? ARE YOU OKAY? DID I HURT YOU?” He said, voice steeped in worry. Your smile fell a bit. Oh. 0/0 HP. No wonder he was a bit worried.

“Never surrender!” You said. Blueberry’s Head jerked just as you twisted around the tree and slammed yourself into the branch. Knocking the snow pile off and right onto Blueberry.

You will forever treasure the look of complete surprise and the startled squeak as Blueberry was buried in snow.

The feeling of triumph was immediately interrupted as your left foot slid off the branch.

Surprised, you didn’t catch yourself in time, hands slipping off the bark. For a second you were plummeting. Down. Down. And this was going to hurt because even though it was snow and oh shit would Error’s strings be able to keep you together when you hit the ground? Dude must be rolling on the ground with laughter, he wouldn’t even have to do anything.

In your panic, it took a second to realize you weren’t falling anymore.

You slowly blinked, heart slowing it’s frantic tattoo against your ribs.

What the hell? Was this some sort of magical gravitational property of the Underground. Did Error take pity on you? What?

“MWEH HEH! I CAUGHT YOU?” Slowly you twisted in air and, how weird was that, to look down. Blueberry grinned gleefully up at you, still partially buried in snow. “LOOK! YOU’RE BLUE NOW!”

The pure happiness in his comment made you giggle. He just sounded so warm and excited, you just couldn’t help it.

Now that you looked, you could see a steady blue glow around your hands. It didn’t hurt like Error’s strings. Instead it felt warm and comforting, like being wrapped up in a warm blanket fresh out of the dryer. You were hanging a few feet above the ground as if gravity had suddenly discovered it hadn’t taken its five minute break in years.

You wobbled in mid air before landing gently on the snow. Right on top of Blueberry. Instantly you squeaked and scrambled off, face flushing. “Are you okay?” Did Blueberry have 1HP like the other Sanses? Would that hurt him?

Blueberry sat up as well, his face bright blue. “YES! I’M FINE. YOUR, AH, LACK OF SOUL MADE IT A DIFFICULT JOB TO KEEP YOU BLUE.” He said.

You grinned mischievously. Blueberry just walked right into a perfect set up. “Are you saying you should have put a little more _backbone_ into it?”

Blueberry groaned theatrically, flopping back into the snow. “HUMAN, REALLY?” He squeaked in surprise as you dove in for another tight hug.

It was a bit cold at first and damp from the snow. But it felt amazing especially when Blueberry wrapped his arms around you and hugged you back. He kind of felt like a space heater despite the snow covering him as well.

“Thanks.” You mumbled into his shoulder. “For catching me.”

“I’LL DO ANYTHING FOR A FRIEND.” Blueberry said sincerely.

Finally you released Blueberry in order to stand and start brushing the snow off. Without Blueberry’s ridiculous levels of heat, you had started to shiver. You stamped your feet and blew on your fingers to warm them.

“FRIEND! WHILE I KNOW YOU HAVE A QUEST TO GET BACK TO, I MUST INSIST WE DETOUR TO MY HOUSE. IT CAN’T BE HEALTHY TO BE SHIVERING LIKE THAT.” Blueberry said. For a second you considered saying no. You didn’t really have time for canoodling at Blue’s house, the pain in your chest was a perfect reminder of that.

But it was just as possible this would be your only chance to do so. If you found your SOUL shard, you’d need to continue soon after.

So instead you slung an arm over Blue’s shoulder after he stood, relishing the welcome heat. “That sounds nice. I’d love to spend some more time with you.” You didn’t regret it when Blueberry beamed at you.

“GOOD! I CAN EVEN WARM YOU UP SOME OF MY DELICIOUS TACOS.” Blueberry said. You hid a smile with your other hand. Oh dear. Blueberry wasn’t supposed to very good at cooking at this point in time, right? Ah well, his happiness would be worth a stomach ache. Maybe you could cook some fresh tacos with him and play damage control.

You kept a careful pace with him in order to keep your arm sling around his shoulder. For some reason, just staying in contact with Blueberry made some of the pain in your chest ease. It was an even more welcome relief than the warmth, you had started to forget what it felt to be without that pain.

Somewhere along your route, Blueberry had started humming something soft and cheery. It almost made you want to hum along, without even knowing the tune. Instead you allowed your eyelids to droop a bit and let your new friend guide you, listening to the music that had filled the air around you.

“So what made you a snowball fight master anyway?” You finally asked, sidestepping a tree. You were disappointed to hear the melody go but listening to Blueberry talk was just as good. He had a happy exuberance to his voice that just made you want to smile and never stop.

“MY BROTHER ACTUALLY! HE CAN BE QUITE THE LAZYBONES BUT SOMEHOW, HE ALWAYS DODGED! WITHOUT MOVING! SO, I VOWED THAT ONE DAY I WOULD HIT HIM! AND, WELL, ALPHYS FOUND OUT AND NOW WE SOMETIMES DO AS PART OF MY ROYAL GUARD TRAINING SESSIONS! MWEH HEH HEH, SHE HASN’T BEATEN ME YET!” Blueberry said. You giggled. Alphys played with Blueberry? Oh god, that would have to be amazing with Swap Alphys gung ho attitude and Blueberry’s determination. You kinda wanted to hang around just to see a match or even to join in.

“That sounds pretty awesome. You probably would have beaten me if I hadn’t climbed the tree and knocked the snow off the branch.” You said. “All’s fair in love and war though.”

“MWEH! I GUESS I’LL HAVE TO CONCEDE THIS TIME TO YOU! BUT NEXT TIME, YOU WON’T BE SO LUCKY.” Blueberry said, sending you a mock threatening look. It instantly melted back into a teasing smile. You snorted.

“I look forward to it.” You said. And you meant it. You’d have another snowball fight with Blueberry, maybe even with Swap Papyrus and Swap Alphys as well. Even if you had to fight Error to do it.

You were about to continue but then you broke out of the trees and you sucked in a breath.

Snowdin was gorgeous.

It was in the game as well but the pixelated style could quite capture the picturesque beauty of the town. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Blue smiling as he watched you glance around to try to take in everything.

In the distance you could see a pastel purple building, Muffet’s maybe? You could hear faint music drifting from it, something classical. You kept looking, utterly enthralled. The recognizable sign of the Librarby. Even the Snowed Inn further down if you craned your neck just right.

And in front, a two story house, warm light shining out of the windows. Sans, well, Blueberry’s house looked friendly and welcoming. You could even see the two mailboxes, one stuffed full of mail and one empty.

Blue stepped past you, jolting you out of your daze. “MY BROTHER SHOULD BE ON PATROL. OR LAZING AROUND AT MUFFET’S.” He said, shooting you a strange look.

He was… concerned? Worried? You supposed you had been acting nervous since you got there and Blueberry had never met a human yet. He might be concerned how you’d react to another monster.

“Your Brother sounds like a cool dude.” You said, trying for what you hoped was a reassuring smile. It looked like it worked as you hoped, Blueberry seemed to relax minutely.

You followed after him as he jogged around the side of the house to the front door. “WELCOME TO MY HOUSE!” He said, throwing his arms up. You stepped inside and your eyes went wide.

“It’s a fabulous house Blueberry.” You said. It wasn’t a lie, while it was a bit messy, it just made it feel lived in and cozy. There was even the pet rock in the corner and the TV was blaring what you thought was a NTT program. A slightly battered but soft looking couch. Pictures on the walls. Even and you giggle a bit at this mentally, a sock on the floor. More importantly however, it was warm. “Super cool!”

“I’M GLAD YOU THINK SO! MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE, I NEED TO GET SOMETHING FROM MY ROOM!” Blueberry said. He spun around and zoomed up the stairs. You chuckled quietly at his enthusiasm, gingerly sitting on the floor in front of the couch. Would be rude to repay Blueberry with a cold damp couch after all and the floor was pretty comfy actually. You settled back and glanced at the TV.

Okay, NTT was seriously addicting. A few seconds in and you had your head resting in your hands, fully absorbed in some cooking show. You doubted it could be called a cooking show, whatever NTT was making apparently required a full carton of eggs and their shells as well as “NTT brand NTT colored glitter!”

On second thought, was this a cooking show or a crafting show?

You blink out of your concentration as you heard thumping from the stairs. Before you could glance back, something soft and warm was draped around your neck and Blue threw himself down on the floor to sit beside you.

“What is this?” You said, looking down curiously.

“A SCARF! I TOOK UP KNITTING AS A HOBBY AFTER ALPHYS SUGGESTED IT! A TOKEN OF OUR FRIENDSHIP AND A WAY FOR YOU TO STAY WARM!” Blueberry said. You sniffed slightly, blinking back the slight burning in your eyes.

It was a light blue and orange striped scarf which clearly had a lot of care put into its creation. It even had alternating orange and blue tassels on the ends. You rub the end between your fingers, marveling at the softness. “Isn’t this yours? Shouldn’t you be attached to it or something?” You said softly.

“I HAVE A FEW MORE! AND PAPYRUS HAS A FEW AS WELL!” Blueberry said, waving off your concerns. “AS MY FRIEND, I THINK YOU SHOULD ONE AS WELL! LIKE THE FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS I HAVE READ ABOUT!”

“In that case, I’m happy to accept your gift.” You said, wrapping the scarf around your neck and throwing one end over your shoulder. It was really warm actually. It didn’t quite hide the darker blue string necklace but it definitely made it less noticeable which was nice in a way. You happily buried your face in the soft wool.

Beside you, you could hear shuffling as Blue got comfortable with him partially leaning against you. “OH! THIS IS MY FAVORITE SHOW!”

You spent a few quiet minutes like that, listening to Blueberry’s chatter. The episode ended and another came on. You blinked as NTT’s smooth voice was interrupted by an unfamiliar stutter. 

Swap Undyne. You squinted at the TV. Then blinked as something occurred to you.

“Blueberry? Undyne studies SOULs, right? And she monitors the Underground?” You said. Maybe this would work, you didn’t have the details but you had a good beginning.

“YES! SHE WORKS WITH ALPHYS TO KEEP THE UNDERGROUND SAFE! UNDYNE HAS TONS OF COOL EQUIPMENT!” Blueberry said. You chose your next words carefully.

“Do you think she has something that could find my SOUL? Like maybe her cameras saw something weird or it shows up on her equipment?” You said. Beat walking all of the Underground if it worked. It might be a bit dangerous to show yourself but it wasn’t like you had any other leads currently.

“I DON’T KNOW BUT SHE MIGHT! IT NEVER HURTS TO ASK!” Blueberry said. He jostled your shoulder slightly. “I CAN HELP YOU GET TO HOTLANDS SO YOU CAN!”

“That would be fantastic help Blueberry if you can spare the time.” You said. Ha! Take that Error, you had friends to help you now! This bet would be easy peasy! At least the start of it.

“ANYTHING FOR MY FRIEND.” Blueberry said. You bumped his shoulder, grinning at him.

“I think we might have crossed the line into best friends by now.” You said sincerely. Blueberry went bright blue, hands flying up to hold his cheeks. You nearly melted under the starry eyed look.

“REALLY? WE’RE BESTIES?” He said. You grinned back.

“The bestest.” Blueberry squealed, throwing himself into you for another hug. You accepted it happily, pulling him close and burying your face in his shoulder. Maybe this bet wouldn’t be so bad.

Finally you reluctantly release and Blueberry bounces back to his feet. “I’LL LEAVE A NOTE FOR MY BROTHER AND THEN WE CAN HEAD FOR HOTLANDS!” He said. You climbed to your feet, wobbling slightly before standing and adjusting your scarf. Blue was already in the kitchen and you followed him, unsure of what to do. You had a plan but wasn’t quite sure how to execute it with hopefully a minimum of people trying to take your nonexistent SOUL.

Blueberry was scribbling on a piece of paper. He jabbed at it once last time and put the pencil down, obviously satisfied. “Got everything worked out?” You asked.

“YES! IF MY BROTHER COMES HOME EARLY, HE’LL KNOW I’M OFF TO HOTLANDS FOR ROYAL GUARD PURPOSES!” Blueberry said. You snorted, opening the door.

“Maybe after all this I can meet your brother.” You suggested, wrinkling your nose at the cold breeze. Blueberry hopped down the steps, clearly unruffled by the wind.

“I’M SURE HE WILL BE EXCITED TO MEET MY NEW BEST FRIEND!” Blueberry said. You felt your face warm.

Then fell right off the steps as a jangly tune filled the air. You hissed, scrambling back to your feet and brushing the snow off. You had just started to dry! At least your new scarf didn’t get wet. Blueberry had stopped ahead of you, pulling a phone out from his short’s pocket. The clear source of the evil jingle.

He was frowning. “STRANGE. ALPHYS’ ONE ON ONE TRAINING ISN'T TILL TOMORROW.” Blueberry put the phone to his head. “YES? I-“ He pulled it away, frowning. His eye lights dimmed, the stars fading away.

“SHE HUNG UP.”

You have a bad feeling about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup! You met the adorable Swap Sans! There were a lot of interesting guesses but in the end, Underswap was the right guess.
> 
> Also nicknames for the reader (like Blueberry’s ‘friend’ nickname) is going to be a running thing :)
> 
> Ended on a cliffhanger. Sorry! If you liked this, please leave a kudos, bookmark, or comment (I try to reply to every comment). Oh! And fan art is welcomed!


	3. I Find You ADOORable

You broke into a jog, quickly catching up to Blueberry. His eye lights had faded back to light blue circles and there was a frown on his face as he jogged along.

“Maybe a human passed by while we were distracted?” You said, forehead wrinkling with worry. Blueberry looked serious but underneath you could see fear and concern. It made you really nervous.

“MY BROTHER WOULD HAVE CONTACTED ME THEN! HE MAY BE LAZY BUT EVEN HE WOULDN’T LET THIS CHANCE SLIP BY!” Blueberry said. 

You frowned. Maybe if the previous run was a Genocide or if this was a current Genocide one, Swap Papyrus wouldn’t say anything. But would he really stay quiet?

But that didn’t make sense, you had seen Snowdin before you went inside and it still looked bright and cheerful. Not dull and dark like in the game’s Genocide run videos you had watched. You hadn’t double checked but either the human had some phenomenal speed run powers or something else was happening.

How much had your arrival changed this world?

Just as importantly, how pissed off would Error be if you accidentally changed the course of this timeline?

Probably really pissed off, you thought ruefully.

“Maybe your brother was asleep?” You asked instead. Blue shook his head, eyes still focused on the path ahead.

“PAPYRUS IS A LAZY BONES BUT AS MY BROTHER, HE IS A GOOD SENTRY!” Almost so quiet you didn’t hear it. “and the human shouldn’t be here yet.”

“Whoa whoa.” You said, slipping in front of Blueberry and forcing him to stop. “You remember Chara?”

Wasn’t Blueberry supposed to be oblivious to the resets like Classic Papyrus? The fandom didn’t seem to agree but you hadn’t seen any sign of this before.

This was getting increasingly more confusing and you didn’t like it.

Blueberry scratched his skull, looking away. “IS THAT WHAT THEIR NAME IS??” At your disbelieving look, he continued. “SOMETIMES I GET STRANGE DREAMS. OF TWO DIFFERENT HUMANS COMING IN AT SIMILAR YET DIFFERENT TIMES.”

“Does Papyrus know?” I said. Blueberry flinched slightly.

“I MADE AN ATTEMPT. BUT SOMETIMES THE DREAMS WERE DARK AND HOPELESS AND IT CLEARLY SCARED HIM.” Blueberry said. He twisted his hands.”ONE TIME I CAME CLOSE TO TELLING HIM AFTER A NIGHTMARE, NOT THAT I WAS SCARED, AND MY HUMAN FRIEND DIDN’T SHOW UP THAT TIME. AT LEAST I THINK. BASED ON MY DREAM.” 

You cooed softly, reaching forward to wrap in a hug. He shook, pressing his face into your hoodie. “This may not be the time but as your bestie, you might want to talk about this.”

“I KNOW. I JUST, I WISHED HE TRUSTED ME ENOUGH TO TELL ME. BECAUSE I KNOW HE KNOWS BUT HE REFUSES TO COME TO ME! JUST HANGS OUT AT THAT GROSS MUFFET’S.” Blueberry said. It sounded dangerously close to a sob.

It sounds like your buddy has had this hanging over their head for a long time.

“Listen, Blueberry, you are a cool dude. I think.” You hesitated. “I think your brother is just afraid of telling you and ruining that. As far as he knows, you’re the same as you’ve always been.”

Blueberry pulled back, blinking up at you. “YOU’RE RIGHT! AS THE MAGNIFICENT BLUEBERRY, I SHOULD CONFRONT MY BROTHER AND SUPPORT HIM!”

Wow, he bounced back quickly. Magic of being a cinnamon roll at work?

“I bet you can do it buddy.” You said, reluctantly dropping your arms. “Let’s deal with this thing in Waterfall then, shall we?”

“RIGHT!” You stepped aside but Blueberry didn’t move. He flushed slightly. “AH, FRIEND, DO YOU MIND BEING THERE? FOR THE TALK?”

You blinked. “For support?” Blueberry nodded shyly. Huh, this really would be a hard conversation to have. Congrats, the brother you’ve been trying to protect actually has a vague idea what was going on the entire time. It’s going to be awkward. You mentally shrugged and smiled at Blueberry. “I’ll be happy to. That’s what a bestie would do, right?”

“YES! THANK YOU FRIEND!” Blueberry bounded forward, his blush beginning to fade. Damn, you should have taken a picture of that adorable scene with your phone.

You stepped to the side, following after Blueberry. Almost unfairly contrary to his small size, he went for a fast jog and seemed like he could keep it up for days.

Then again, the little dude trained with hardcore Alphys. 

Now you dearly wanted to make tacos with Alphys too. If only to see if you could prevent the infamous house fire. It must be interesting.

As you jogged along, slowly the snow melted away and the ever present chill was replaced by a slightly warmer humidity. The light as well faded away, dimming as if in an ever present night time, filled with the sounds of rushing water. The walls seemed to draw closer.

It was in a word, tranquil. You felt like you could just flop on the floor and be lulled to sleep by the sound of rushing water.

You shook your head, trying to knock out the fatigue and focused on Blueberry in front of you. He was still quiet. Worried about Alphys or his brother?

Maybe you shouldn’t have brought up the reset memory yet. Or pushed for a conversation. What if it was too soon and the thought of it was making Blueberry nervous? You didn’t want to hurt him.

Your mouth settled into a determined line. Even if it hurt, you’d help him through it as best you could. That’s what friends were for.

Slowly your attention wandered away again and you found yourself glancing back over your shoulder. Was Waterfall this dark in the game? You knew that there was a pitch black puzzle area but you could have sworn that was farther ahead. Not at the beginning.

And the shadows on the walls seemed to be… strange. Rounder, more curved than they should be. Almost as if they were liquid, flowing over the floor.

“Blueberry? Is this darkness normal?” You asked, wrapping your scarf tighter around your neck.

“NO! BUT I’M SURE IT’S JUST A SIMPLE PROBLEM WITH THE LIGHTING SYSTEM! MAYBE THAT’S WHY ALPHYS HUNG UP!” He said, his voice echoed strangely off the walls.

You frowned, feeling your heart this even harder against your ribs. The pain in your chest seemed like it had faded ever so slightly.

Then Blueberry took a step forward and nearly plunged downwards.

You screamed in surprise, almost tripping over yourself as you dove forwards, hands wrapping around his bandanna and towing him backwards to safe ground.

You wheezed, staring at the ground with wide eyes. It looked normal, no hidden puddles or holes.

And yet, even under where you were sprawled on the floor, you could feel the ground slowly liquefying like quick sand. Trying to drag you down.

Slowly you drew your other hand through it, cringing as it came back dripping black ooze. As you watched, it seemed to crumble into dust, leaving your hand clean, if a bit tingly.

You were snapped out of your fear and confusion by Blueberry scrambling to his feet, pulling you back up by your scarf. You flushed, realizing you were still holding onto his bandanna but you didn’t want to let go now.

“FRIEND, STAY CLOSE.” The levity of before had vanished. He still seemed cheery but there was a serious edge to it that made you even more nervous. You couldn’t blame him though.

The ground underneath you trembled and you could hear something echoing off the walls now. Low, harmonious. Like the whale songs you had heard in your own universe. The sounds of rushing water were gone.

You edged closer to Blue. “Do you hear that?” You said.

“HEAR WHAT?” Blueberry said. He summoned a blue bone attack into his hands but the subtle blue glow was swallowed up by the shadows around you.

Your heart jumped into your threat. “That noise.” You said thickly. As you listened, it seemed to grow in volume.

As if whatever was causing it was coming closer.

It sounded sad. Mournful. Like someone was pouring all their tears into a song. Painful to listen to.

You blinked as you felt something running down your cheek. You raised a hand to your cheek, blinking slowly in befuddlement. 

You were… crying? But why?

“FRIEND? ARE YOU OKAY?” Blueberry said. Your head snapped up. Were you okay? You didn’t think you were.

But like hell you’d ever tell Blueberry that. “I’m fine. Just tired.” You said. He didn’t quite look like he believed you.

“WELL IF YOU REFUSE TO TELL ME, THEN AS A GOOD FRIEND I WILL WAIT FOR THAT TRUST.” Ouch, wasn’t that a dart to the heart. He turned back, facing the route ahead. “I’LL FIND A STABLE PATH FOR US! STAY CLOSE BEHIND ME.”

Slowly you released his bandanna. “Right behind you Blueberry. Don’t worry about me.” You said. Tears were still trickling down your cheeks and you took advantage of his distraction to try and covertly wipe them off using the one of the ends of your scarf.

Blue tapped on the floor, slowly swinging the bone to find a solid spot. Eventually he found one and sidled forward and you quickly shuffled after him, blushing at your close proximity.

The music suddenly turned to ear piercing shrieks and you winced, hands jolting up to cover your ears. Your chest seemed to burn. “FRIEND?”

“I’m fine.” You insisted. You couldn’t stop now, you thought, glancing back over your shoulder. Your previous path was covered in darkness. It was impossible to see an exit.

You slowly lowered your hands as the unearthly music lulled again, becoming soft and mournful. The strings around your chest seemed unbearably tight.

Then Blueberry turned and you felt the bone attack smack into your ribs.

You yelped as you tumbled back, skidding along the goopy floor. Reflexively, your hand went to your ribs and you winced. That was going to be a nasty bruise.

“Blueberry what are you doing?” You said, hating the note of uncertainty in your voice. You thought you were friends, why was he suddenly lashing out at you?

You shook your head, climbing back to your feet and putting out your hands in front of you. “Are you okay?” You said, concern coloring your voice. Something had to be wrong for him to attack. Blueberry’s eyes dimmed.

“FRIEND, YOU SHOULD GO BAC- ACH!” He yelped and you took a few hurried steps forward, ignoring the shadows sucking at your shoes.

Closer, you could see a steady blue glow from his chest, underneath his armor in the shape of an upside down heart. Your heart felt like it was filled with lead.

That was… that was the same color as the blue magic Blueberry had used to prevent your fall from a tree.

But instead of that warm towel feeling you got, it almost seemed to be hurting Blueberry judging by the tight look on his face and the slow wheeze in his breathing.

You took another step forward, reaching out your hand. Blueberry’s bone attack dissolved. “HEAD BACK AS BEST YOU CAN. I’LL DEAL WITH THIS! JUST, AH, CONTACT MUFFET AND SEE IF MY LAZYBONES BROTHER IS AROUND.” You bit your lip.

“I’m not leaving you.” You insisted, stepping closer. His smile was a bit shaky and it made your chest hurt in an entirely different way to see it.

“MWEH HE HEH! I CAN HANDLE MYSELF! DON’T BE WORRIED FOR ME!” Blueberry said. You frowned, reaching forward anyways.

“Just take my hand, we can deal with this.” You said, trying for reassurance. You were so close, just another once forward and you could snag his bandanna again.

And then try something, you had a half formed plan based on what you knew. Maybe a good hit could jar the blue magic or you could do something with your lack of SOUL to throw it off.

You were willing to try anything at this point.

And then Blue yelped and you moved, completely ignoring how the ground began to collapse under your feet in favor of throwing yourself forward.

Your fingertips brushed the smooth fabric of his bandanna and you swore as it slipped right out of your fingers.

Your heart stopped as you watched Blueberry hit the floor, skid a few feet and-

And disappear.

It was one part as if he had been standing on an icy lake only to have the ice break under him and one part as if the shadows had reached up and tugged him under.

You hyperventilate, one hand coming up to cover your mouth.

He was just gone.

You raced forward the last few steps, recklessly crouching and reaching under the surface.

It felt icy cold underneath and you could feel your hands going numb as you rummaged underneath the surface. You weren’t going to abandon your friend who had done so much for you.

Including saving you. You slowly retracted your hands, staring numbly at the shadowy ground, ignoring how it lapped at your shoes.

If he hadn’t knocked you back, it could have been you who was blue instead.

You pressed your fists into your burning eyes. But was it worth it? Damn it, you were already living underneath a death warrant. And Blue, he, he saved you knowing that. Only the vague details but still.

You weren’t going to leave it at that.

You hiccuped, standing up and backing away, nearly stumbling at the amount of strength it took to pull your shoes out of the muck.

It was almost a comfort when grief turned into rage. “Time to face the music asshole.” You said, turning and storming towards the eerie haunting echoes.

You nearly fell in a few times, once where the shadows came up past your knee but stubbornly you kept trekking forward. No way, no how were you turning back now.

And then you saw something different up ahead.

A grey panel, standing in the middle of the shadows, unattached to anything. As you drew closer, anger turned to confusion.

It was a door.

But why would a door be in the middle of a void?

You had a very bad feeling about this. The music was on the verge of deafening now and it was putting you on edge.

You slowly paced closer to the door. Strange enough, the closer you got, the more the singing echoes turned to… sobs. Someone was crying. Just like you.

You slowly reached up, tracing the newest tear tracks down your face.

It was hard to keep a hold on your anger as you came up within feet of the door and the echoes fade completely away into humming sobs.

You tapped on the door, trying very hard to keep a familiar smiling face fixed in your thoughts. “Hello? Are you okay?” The sobbing slowed.

“ **Go away**.” You twitched. It was almost as bad as Error except instead of static it was a strange echo as if they were talking from far away. You leaned against the cold door, ignoring how icy cold it was.

“What’s going on?” You continued, ignoring their previous comment.

“ **None of your beeswax.” You sighed, letting your forehead hit the door. More sobs. “** It hurts.”

“What hurts?” You said. Was Error causing trouble? Some kind of glitch? “Are you okay?”

No answer this time. You slowly tapped on the door, prompting louder sobs.

You gritted your teeth. Well if they won’t talk through the door, then you were coming inside. You reached for the doorknob, hissing when it seemed flash freeze your hand. At least, that’s what it felt like.

“ **Don’t**!” You hesitated, worried by the amount of terror that was in that voice.

“Sorry dude.” You said, closing your eyes for a moment. They quickly flashed open again. “But I think I passed the point of listening to people a while back.”

You opened the door.

And immediately faltered, hand lingering on the door knob.

It was a Gaster dressed in the robes of the Riverperson. Instead of being an gooey mess in the middle of the floor like the game though, this one appeared startling corporeal. You could even see legs, dressed in black pants from where a corner of the robes was farther up.

He wasn’t quite normal though. The robe seemed oddly liquid, puddling out of the floor in a way that reminded you of the liquid shadows outside.

The world was strangely monochromatic as well. A normal box of a room, completely uniform grey along every surface. You and the Gaster were the only spot of color

You stepped closer, raising your hands up. The Gaster shied away. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m not trying to hurt you. I just want to know what’s wrong.” You soothed.

He made a sound that was a cross between a hiccup and a cough. “ **It hurts**.” You could see that he was holding a hand to his chest. “ **So so much**.”

“What hurts?” You asked. “I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s hurting you.”

What would make a Gaster act like this? As well as seemingly flooding the world outside of the door to the void?

Something in your heart ached as you slowly drew closer as if you were dealing with a wild animal. A look at his face increased it a thousand fold and you drew in a quick breath.

Their eyes. One startling orange but the other… the other was a painful blue.

A blue you had seen a while ago when your friend Blueberry was lost.

You hissed, forcing the painful memories out of your head. You couldn’t deal with this now. You just had to handle the Gaster and shadow situation and then-

Then you could grieve and break down in private.

An ear piercing shriek from in front of you, sending you back a step. “ **I SAID GET AWAY**!” 

You stumbled as your right foot seem to slide into the ground, trapping you up past the knees. You twisted, trying to keep your left out for as long as you could.

Even so, you bit your lip so hard you could taste blood. What were you supposed to do now? You could barely move, let alone walk.

You twitched as the humming started again. You were really starting to hate the sad music. It kept the tears streaming down your cheeks and you were getting tired of crying.

So instead you hummed back at him, trying to drown out the noise with something cheerier. 

The same tune Blueberry had been humming early on was the first thing that came to mind. Something thick settled in your throat and you forced your way past it, feeling tears slip out for a very different reason as you continued.

You just couldn’t seem to think of anything else. So on you hummed, dredging up those perfect memories in the snow. Trying not to let sadness taint the cheery light tune.

It was a harder task then you thought it would be.

Burning, your left leg gave out. Sending a jab of pain as it hit the cold ground instead of slipping through.

You couldn’t help it. You finally shattered.

You sobbed, burying your face in your arms. Blueberry was gone and probably so was Alphys and oh god what about Undyne and Papyrus? Did they know? Were they gone already?

God, you were so stupid thinking you could just jump in and magically put yourself together in less than a month when you had no idea what you were doing.

And your stupidity had gotten your best friend trapped and possibly dead.

You hiccuped, on the verge of hyperventilating again, scrubbing furiously at your eyes. Stupid you should have been bet-

Cold skeletal hands slowly closed around your own, tugging them gently away from your face. Your eyes widened as the hands moved until you were being gently pressed into a cold fabric covered chest.

Slowly you blinked and nearly broke down again as you realized what music was filling the air.

Blue’s tune. But not from you this time.

Instead you cling closer, wrapping your own arms around the person and pressing your face into their chest, quietly crying.

One hand came up and began slowly, hesitantly, combing through your hair. Holding absolutely still otherwise.

Finally your tears dried off and you trailed off into weak hiccups. You pulled back, blinking your sore eyes.

The Gaster looked back at you, guilt and sadness mirroring your own. “ **Are you okay now**?” They asked softly. You hiccuped and took a few deep breaths. The Gaster didn’t comment, just shifting their arms so you could be more comfortable in their lap.

“Better now. Must’ve looked pretty pathetic though, breaking down like that.” You said with a self deprecating smile. All that energy you put into keeping a hold of yourself and putting on a brave front, completely wasted.

You were almost startled when the Gaster looked suddenly irritated. “ **There is nothing wrong with being sad**.” They said fiercely.

It helped your grin slip into something a little more genuine. “I-I guess you’re right. Between your sadness and Blue falling away. I just couldn’t keep it together.”

It felt good to mourn. Like you finally pulled a plug on a tub that was about to overflow.

Getting cuddled and comforted was just a really awesome bonus, you had to admit.

The Gaster looked a tiny bit stricken. “ **Blue’s gone? What happened**?” They asked. You blinked slowly in surprise.

“You don’t know? But I thought- He turned blue. And then sunk into the shadows like quicksand.” You said, sitting up slightly but not pulling out of the Gaster’s hold.

The Gaster frowned. “ **I remember being scared. And then I felt something and I panicked and then it went away**.” They looked down. “ **My brother is gone**?” 

You frowned at the tiny grief filled tone. The odd humming was coming back again and for some strange reason, you could see their eyes growing brighter. Magic perhaps?

Gaster startled as you cupped their chin in your hands. “Hey if you were in pain and scared, it kinda makes sense you know? I would have been freaking out too. Just take a deep breath, I’m pretty sure we can put things back.” Worst comes to worst, you could always try a reset, right? Chara would probably help.

Plus saying the words out loud helped you believe a little more too.

The Gaster took a deep shuddering breath. “ **I’m sorry**.” They said finally. “ **It just hurts so much and I keep feeling things that aren’t quite right and everything just feels so much bigger now**.” 

You frowned, not yet removing your hands from their face. “You never did tell me what was hurting you.” You said, already concerned.

The Gaster twitched under your stare, already flustered. “ **I never did? Oh, that’s right. It just completely slipped my mind**.” They looked oddly far away.

“You never introduced yourself either.” You said, happy to fill the silence if it kept your new friend calm. “I know you’re Blueberry’s and probably Stretch’s bro but not much else.”

Speaking of which, how did he already know your nicknames for the Swap skelly bros? You could have sworn you didn’t tell them who they were and yet he wasn’t showing any confusion.

Eh, you’ll deal with it later.

“ **Oh, sorry again! I’m W.D. Gaster but most call me Dings**.” He said, ducking his head shyly. You resisted the the to coo but didn’t quite resist the urge to pull him into a hug again. He squeaked in the most adorable way, so much like Blueberry.

Finally you released him reluctantly and he continued, hands gesturing as he talked. “ **And what hurts, well it was kind of a long story but it might be easier to show you**.” He said, frowning slightly.

Before you could question it, you felt a shiver run through the air. Dings’ blue eye seemed to glow and his outline began to glow blue.

And then his SOUL was in front of your face.

“Woah.” You said, carefully drawing closer. Dings’ face turned orange and blue, shading from one side to the other. You were too absorbed in his SOUL to noticed.

It was really really pretty. It was a white upside down monster SOUL like the games but it had lost some of the pixelated look.

Instead it fuzzed around the edges, like a slightly glitchy picture or liquid just barely holding its shape. Colors drifted across its surface like an oil slick.

It would be gorgeous if it wasn’t for the flaw your eyes fell upon at its center.

A light grey piece that didn’t quite fit right in all of the ways. Wrong colors, wrong fuzzing, and the way it seemed to reform the heart shape a little.

But still your eyes kept going back to it as if it were a magnet.

“ **You can touch it**.”

You jumped, nearly banging your head on Dings’ chin. They took it with good cheer, more focused on you. “Isn’t this your SOUL though? I shouldn’t be messing around with that. I don’t want to hurt you more.” You said, voice burning with earnest worry.

You wouldn’t be able to forgive yourself if you hurt Dings, especially in what seemed like a sensitive spot.

“ **It’s fine, my SOUL has always been more resilient than most. You won’t dust me**.” He said, shifting slightly. “ **And maybe you can take out the pain. It already feels better outside and near you**.”

You flushed slightly. “Yeah.” You muttered, dragging your eyes back to the SOUL. Cautiously, you reached out and cupped your hands around it, pulling it closer as gently as you could.

It almost seemed to pulse, alive and warm in your hands. You dragged your mind away before you could become spellbound again, idly noting the lack of pain in your chest.

Then you pressed your thumb into the grey spot on the center and Dings hissed in what sounded like pain and then something pulled in your chest.

A wave of exhaustion hit you and you were out like a light.

* * *

When you wake, you were surprised to find yourself still being held in someone’s arms.

Opening your eyes felt like bench pressing weights only using your eyelids but eventually you could see again.

Heterochromatic eyes peered down at you with obvious worry. “ **Are you okay? You were out for a while**.” Dings said.

You smiled, shifting up to sit. Dings obliged, readjusting their arms so you could. “I’m fine, jus-“ You paused.

You felt better. No, better than better. Like your TV had just cleared from staticky commercials to full definition perfect color. Your chest felt painless and breathing was easy.

It wasn’t noticeable before but you everything just felt clearer. Less dull and slow.

“ **I would prefer to perform a CHECK anyway, with your consent. So I can be sure you’re okay**.” Dings said. You frowned, tearing your attention away from the newness of the world.

“Sure? I’m okay with it.” You said. Dings smiled, and you twitched at the puns and needles that ran up your spine.

And then gaped at the letters that appeared.

1/1 HP. You had your suspicions but you didn’t want to get your hopes up. But it was true. No wonder you felt amazing.

“ **Just as I thought**.” Dings muttered. You pulled your attention away from the CHECK to look up at him. He shifted, looking back into your eyes. “ **It appears I somehow got a bit of your SOUL. When you touched it, you were able to pull it back, taking it out of my own SOUL**.” He frowned, still muttering under his breath. Too quietly for you to hear.

“You okay?” You asked. Did harboring one of your SOUL bits hurt him permanently somehow? 

Dings jumped slightly. “ **O-oh? I’m fine. Just… I don’t remember how I encountered a SOUL shard, let alone how I ended up absorbing it**.” He said. 

That did seem like a problem, you glanced down at his cloak. And then nearly lunged out of his lap. “ **What**?” Dings cried, head turning wildly.

“Blue! And Alphys! Oh shit, are the shadows still weird? Are they okay?” You cried. You couldn’t believe you had forgotten something as important as that! You wobbled, nearly falling as you tried to climb to your feet.

Dings gently pulled you back down and you yelped. “ **They’re fine. After you withdrew the SOUL shard, the Void magic retreated back to this world. They should suffer no ill effects once released. If they haven’t already been released**.” You sighed, relaxing into his hold.

“That’s comforting.” You said, climbing back to your feet slowly this time. You wobbled slightly but stayed standing. Success!

“ **Good luck with the rest of your shards**.” Dings said, his smile bittersweet. “ **I hope we will be able to meet again in the Void**.”

Your forehead creased. “You can’t come with me?” You would just have to leave your new friend alone in a monochromatic world? Just like that?

“ **I can’t leave**.” Dings said. You frowned, stamping a foot.

“Bully to that!” You said, reaching down and shamelessly taking advantage of Dings’ surprise to haul him to his feet. “Just a little while ago, you had a human SOUL shard inside of you! My SOUL shard! Doesn’t that count for anything?”

“ **I’m afraid it’s unlikely to be of any assistance**.” Dings insisted, pulling his hand out of yours. He fiddled with his hands nervously. “ **It’ll be better if you just keep going by yourself**.”

“No!” Seeing the look on his face, you relented slightly. “I don’t want to leave my friend here. You’re a nice guy, you don’t deserve this. Just please, try it. For me?”

For a second, your hand hung in midair alone. Your heart seemed to stop beating.

Then a skeletal hand slipped in.

“ **I reserve the right to say ‘I told you so’**.” Dings muttered. You grinned wildly, nearly skipping to the door.

“Right back at you.” You said. No room for hesitation or you could freak out Dings. You pulled him over the threshold.

For a second, his hand seemed to glitch out in yours and you held tighter, terrified of what was happening.

You were not going to lose him.

And then, it settled.

Dings slowly examined his hands, a look of wonder dawning on his face. “ **I’m out**.” He said, glancing to the stone walls. You mirrored his grin.

It wasn’t perfect, Dings seemed faded compared to the rest of the world and you could see right through him like a ghost.

But your new friend wouldn’t be stuck in a monochromatic world. Anything would be a step up in your opinion.

“FRIEND!” You squealed as someone barreled into your side, using the momentum to whirl them around.

“Blue!” You cried. You came to a stop, Blue still clinging to you.

“I WAS CONCERNED WHEN WE COULDN’T FIND YOU! ARE YOU OKAY?” He asked, eye lights bright blue stars again.

You grin, eyes sliding to the side to where your apparently unseen to all friend stood. “Better than okay.” You said confidently. Dings blushes again.

“So who’s the human?” Your head snapped up at the lazy tone.

Stretch. The lazy skeleton was taller than you, by more of his slouch was any indication. An unlit cigarette dangled from his teeth, his hands tucked in the pockets of his orange hoodie.

“ _Tibia_ honest, pretty awesome.” You answered. Stretch froze for a second before grinning.

“That was pretty good. Really tickled my funny bone.” He said. You burst into a fit of giggles and Blueberry groaned. Dings quietly giggled from behind you.

“NO, NOT THE PUNS!” He said. You giggled, whirling him around.

“Nah, all of the puns bro.” You teased. Blue groaned again and you laughed, happily taking in every inch of Blue. Who was still breathing and alive.

Maybe you could do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo Gaster! Dings is amazing! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please leave a kudos, comment, or bookmark if you enjoy! I’ll try to respond to as many comments as I can!
> 
> Fan art is appreciated!


	4. Seams Legit

“This is heaven.” You moaned, sprawled across the worn couch. Humming happily, you rubbed your face into the slightly stained fabric. “The absolute best.”

You had been standing around in the snow with the skeleton brothers for a few seconds before your body suddenly felt the need to remind you right that very second that A. You were freezing and B, having a SOUL shard again stung like hell at first.

The warm house and soft couch felt like absolute bliss after that.

“ **Even compared to me? That couch is truly the best thing that’s happened to you?** ” Dings said nearby. You nearly rushed out a refusal, Dings was awesome and a fragile cinnamon roll, but when you glanced up, his eyes held nothing but teasing warmth.

So instead, you pressed your face back into the couch, happily soaking up the warmth before furtively glancing back. Blue was cooking and Stretch had excused themselves to their room for a few minutes.

So you wouldn’t look crazy talking to the ghost friend that may or may not be unseeable to everyone but you.

It’s not like you _meant_ to stay quiet about it, Dings was their brother after all. It just kind of got shoved aside in the excitement of seeing a safe Blueberry and then your body going on strike.

How would you start the conversation anyway? “Hey I’m not crazy but I found your brother in the shadows, yeah the ones that temporarily ate Blueberry. He’s standing over here and yes I know you can’t see him but believe me he’s there.”

You sighed softly, shoving away those thoughts. You could deal with it eventually, a little waiting hopefully wouldn’t hurt anyone. And hopefully by then you would have figured out how to make Dings normal again.

“Sorry dude. Your friendship is great and all but this couch is the bomb. Supports me all nice and comfy cozy.” You made a big production of trying to snuggle even further into the cushions. “It’s warm too.”

“ **I can be warm too.** ” You could hear the slight pout in his voice from here. You smirk into the couch at that.

“Oh yeah? I’ll believe it when I can cuddle it bro.” Comfortable silence for a few seconds.

You nearly jumped out of your skin as someone settled on the couch next to, partially leaning on your curled up body. You peek out and see Dings flickering form sitting next to you, with him watching you with poorly covered anxiety.

With a snort, you uncurled, readjusting so Dings could press into your side, one arm thrown around your shoulders. And then sighed in happiness.

Okay screw what you said before. Dings was the best heater. It was him. It felt a bit odd when his bones brushed against your bare skin, slightly tingly. But it was the good kind of odd. Even if it wasn’t, Dings was so warm you were happy to overlook it.

“I’m gonna steal your cloak someday.” You whisper out of the blue, eyeing it in green eyed envy. That was a nice cloak. Dings snorted.

“ **I’m sorry, you’re a good friend. But the cloak is off limits.** ” Dings said. You pouted theatrically, pressing further into his side.

It was a pretty awesome robe. Not quite as stylish as your scarf and hoodie combo, but that fabric looked amazing. Thick, soft, and most likely waterproof. 

Considering that snow was one of your banes of existence right now, all three of those factors sounded awesome.

You snort. “I’m not joking. You’re gonna wake up someday and it’s gonna be gone. And you’ll be like, what diabolical villain has stolen my cloak? Then you’ll turn around and see me, cosplaying the Grim Reaper. In your cloak.” You said. Your cheeks flushed with warmth as you got another startled laugh.

“ **I shall battle you then, for the glory of my wonderful cloak. Though it does not seem very diabolical if you tell me what you plan before executing the plan.** ” Dings said. 

“Ah.” You said, booping his face. “That is the most diabolical part. You’ll never see it coming. You shall have to live in eternal fear and paranoia of that day. The day in which said masterful plan has been executed and it was masterful enough nothing could be done to stop it.”

“ **Oh no.** ” Dings said, his voice shaking slightly with suppressed humor. “ **You have thrown my life into chaos, you supervillain. Truly, you are The most wicked villain I have ever encountered.** ” Slowly, he moved back and you whined softly at the loss of your heater. “ **I suppose I can no longer stay around you then. Out of fear and paranoia you see.**

You hissed and made grabby hands. “Who’s the real villain here, depriving a poor popsicle of the heater so they may thaw?”

Huh. So that’s what it looked like when a skeleton rolled their eye lights. Cool.

Dings leaned back into your side. “ **Fine, I suppose you may be granted your cuddle privileges for a while longer.** ” He said.

“Damn right.” You muttered, tugging him closer. Your arm froze in mid air as clanking ensued from the kitchen.

You hurriedly pulled it back, still frowning as Dings slid away and off the couch. Not that you didn’t understand, he had been elated to see his brother but said elation had lost out to anxiety. And sadness especially when neither Blueberry nor Stretch could see him. It hurt your heart to see your buddy so nervous.

You’d have to do something about this situation soon. By hook or by crook, you were getting Dings back with his brothers!

And maybe in the meantime you should leave your new best couch friend. The clanking has turned into an ominous metallic rattle. You could smell a little smoke in the air.

But Blueberry has looked so excited when he pushed you into the couch and told you to wait and that he would have his delicious tacos whipped up in no time. And there was that edge of concern as well, he had not believed your wave off that you were fine after the shadows.

Probably didn’t help you were one wrong move away from being flopped on the ground unconscious again. And you had probably looked like it too. Blueberry had stuck so close to your side on the walk back, he practically carried you home!

But the smell was promising dire prospects for your future. The conundrums of life you suppose.

Thumping on the stairs drew your attention away from the increasingly ominous kitchen. “Hey, human.” Stretch says, loping into the living room with a relaxed ease.

You grinned lazily back at him. “Hey Stretch.” A marginal flicker of surprise, damn you expected a bit more.

“Stretch?” He asked. You sat up more, still leaning on the couch arm. Huh, you hadn’t called him by name yet. Or nickname you guessed. Then again, he had been kind of quiet on the way home while you and Blueberry tried to fill him in on the basics of your situation.

“Yeah because you’re super tall. Like kind of unfairly tall.” Even with the slouch, he still had a few inches on you. It kind of ruined your awesome intimidation aura, not that you had much of one in the first place.

Stretch grinned, flopping down on the couch next to year. You squeaked as the couch bounced slightly, shaking your fist at him in teasing anger. “Fine, honey.” He said, chuckling slightly.

You squinted at him. “Was that nickname supposed to be teasing? Because it’s actually kinda cute. I love it.” Ooh, was that a pale orange blush you see?

Stretch ignored that statement, unwrapping a lollipop and popping it into his mouth. Nice deflection. You both sat in silence for a while, half absorbed in the TV. Dings seemed particularly fascinated by the sugar/paint/glitter combination Napstaton was working with and was practically pressing his face into the screen. You smothered a giggle at the sight.

Considering the weird glance Stretch sent you, you weren’t as successful in that endeavor as you hoped. “So, your SOUL was damaged?” He said. You grimaced. You had given Stretch a quick overview on the walk back, leaving Error and the bet out though but didn’t really say much other than that.

Okay, you also felt the tiniest bit guilty leaving the Error bit out from both of your conversations but really you had no choice here!

Even if this wasn’t the same universe where Error destroyed it and kidnapped Blue, you didn’t think Stretch would react well to the thought of the psychopathic glitch. Probably shouldn’t take the risk right now. Stretch was overprotective from what you had read.

“Yep.” You said instead after a beat. “Whatever freaky thing was going on, it was using my SOUL shard to do it.” And wasn’t that a strange thought.

“Sounds pretty weird. Wish I had been there.” Stretch said. You winced.

“Yeah, I wish you had been there too. Maybe then I wouldn’t have lost Blue for a bit.” You said guiltily. You were startled off of the guilt train by a hand patting your shoulder.

“Blue has a mind of his own.” Stretch said fondly, glancing off towards the kitchen. “And from what I hear, it’s not like you could have done much.”

You pouted. “Could have done something though.” You said stubbornly.

“ **My brother is right. Your SOUL was shattered, even if you had a magical attribute, you couldn’t access it.** ” Dings said, not taking their eyes off of the TV.

No magic? You kind of expected it but that still kind of sucked. “Probably not.” Stretch said, slightly echoing Dings. “Anyway, is there anything about your SOUL I should be concerned about?”

Worried big brother translation: Is there some sort of virus or homicidal ghost attached now that would try to murder my brother?

They were so cute together. It was tripling the cinnamon sugar in the air. Oh no, lured in any a cinnamon roll and then drowned in sweetness. So worth it

“I don’t think so?” You said, glancing down at your chest. Thankfully the strings around your chest had loosened but you could still feel them curled around your rib cage. And your string necklace was mostly unnoticeable under your scarf. “Do you want to check?”

“If you’re okay with it.” Stretch said, reaching out a hand. You nodded quickly. Stretch wouldn’t take advantage of you like that! 

If he was surprised by the trust he didn’t show it, making a lazy gesture with his hands. You gasped quietly as your SOUL was revealed. It felt… tingly. But not painful tingly. No creepy and depressing floating sign though. Good, that thing was frustrating to look at. And there was more important things to see. Like your SOUL.

Now that the nerves had died down, you could clearly see your SOUL. At least it look undamaged by the whole ordeal. It was still jagged and rough around the edges, easy to see where it had been broken off from the whole. But it didn’t look like it was bleeding or anything like that. Could SOULs bleed? You had no idea.

“Is the color normal?” You said, glancing over at Stretch. He sighed, tapping the lollipop against his teeth.

“Maybe. Not like a lot of information is present about human SOULs though. Looks fine to me otherwise.” Stretch said. You frowned, reaching up to cup your hands around the delicate looking shard.

It was a pretty color, a silvery grey and kind of glowing as well, making it sparkle slightly in the light. Kind of elegant too. But it wasn’t one of the normal colors and that was concerning.

Was it because of Error, the Anti Void, your SOUL shattering, or was it always like that? Was it healthy? 

What you wouldn’t give to have a magic mentor who could explain everything right now. 

Dings turned, almost like he could pick up on your conflicted thoughts. “ **While color can be important, it doesn’t mean everything for a SOUL. Monster SOULS are white after all and that doesn’t stop them from acting in different ways.** ” He said gently.

You sighed but smiled anyway, your hands relaxing around your SOUL. It did make you feel slightly better. “I’ll be putting that back now.” Stretch said, making a sharp gesture. Your SOUL disappeared, kind of anticlimactically for what you were expecting. Not even a little flash of light.

But as pretty as your SOUL was to look at, it felt even better to have it safely returned. Like suddenly feeling full again when you didn’t know you were empty.

You sighed in bliss, relaxing against the couch and ignoring Stretch’s slight flush. “If it makes you feel better, it looks fine otherwise.” Stretch mumbles, slipping his lollipop back into his mouth. You flushed slightly as well, sitting up slightly.

Where did he get that lollipop anyway, you thought while glossing over yours and his flush, was it some sort of Sans attribute that carried over? It looked like he slipped it out of his hoodie pocket but you didn’t notice anything before. Some sort of teleportation like the shortcuts?

And now you kinda wanted to be able to summon candy when you wanted. Yay.

You tore your eyes away from staring at Stretch’s face, ignoring his strange look, and checked the clock along the wall. When was Error going to pick you up? You’d rather not be dragged off in front of Blueberry and Stretch.

Hell, maybe you should make a preemptive move and leave now to make sure he couldn’t do that. But then again, you doubted the brothers were just going to let you wander off through the Underground. So you’d either have to make a convenient excuse or somehow sneak off while they were distracted.

And you thought college was difficult.

Before you could keeping going down that mental road, Blueberry burst or of the kitchen carrying a plate of… something.

“SUCCESS!” He cried. “GET READY FRIEND, FOR A TASTE ADVENTURE YOU HAVE ONLY DREAMED OFF.” Your smile weakened slightly, remembering all the headcanons about Blueberry’s food.

_Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad?_

As if to crush your every hope and dream, Dings caught your eye and slowly shook his head. Then turned back to his show, completely ignoring your future suffering.

“Smells good!” You said. Blueberry bounced over, pressing the plate into your hands. You accepted it, glancing down at the tacos.

“It’s better when it’s warm and fresh.” Stretch said. Was that a tip or a warning? Blueberry nodded enthusiastically.

It, uh, was certainly something. The tortilla shells were still slightly smoking, hot sauce had been liberally poured on the side to make a giant puddle, and glitter of all colors had been mixed into the meat. You swallowed heavily. Maybe you shouldn’t?

You glanced up into those starry eyes and felt your excuses die in your throat. You couldn’t disappoint eyes like that!

Determined, you picked up a taco and took a bite. Then chewed. Then chewed a little bit more.

It tasted interesting. Not as bad as you were expecting, the burnt meat and tortilla was mostly offset by the veggies and the glitter was only a faint plasticky aftertaste.

You swallowed slowly and gave Blueberry a thumbs up with your other hand. “10/10, I don’t think I’ve ever had better tacos than this.” You said with every ounce of sincerity you could muster.

Blueberry beamed. “I’M SO GLAD YOU ENJOY IT FRIEND!” You nodded, caught up in his enthusiasm. “I’VE MADE PLENTY MORE IN CASE YOU’RE REALLY HUNGRY TOO!”

“Think you should slow down a bit bro and let them savor what they have already.” Stretch said, winking at you. Truly, Stretch was under appreciated in his charity work.

“RIGHT! ARTISANAL DISHES LIKE THIS SHOULD BE SAVORED, NOT STUFFED DOWN THEIR THROAT.” Blueberry said. “I’LL GO MAKE OUR PLATES. SAME TOPPINGS AS USUAL?”

“You know me.” Stretch said, leaning back with an easy grin. You snorted, feeling a brief flair of jealousy at their easy companionship. They hadn’t even done much and already you could tell they would die for each other.

Or as shown in previous Genocide timelines, murder for each other. 

That reminded you of something important.

“Blueberry, don’t you and Stretch have something to talk about?” You said softly, resting your plate in your lap. Blueberry stiffened, eye lights briefly dimming.

“OH. IN THE COURSE OF THIS ADVENTURE, I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THAT.” They said, fidgeting slightly. Stretch sat up, suddenly more alert.

“Anything wrong bro?” He said. You gave Blueberry a quick supportive nod and a thumbs up. He smiled weakly back.

“WELL, UM, YOU KNOW HOW SOMETIMES I HAVE THOSE NIGHTMARES?” Blueberry said. You mentally winced. Maybe not the best way to start off this conversation. Dings had already torn their attention away from Napstabot’s culinary/craft adventures to peer over Blueberry’s shoulder.

“Nightmares?” Stretch said suspiciously. Their eyes narrowed. Blueberry waved their hands frantically.

“NOT LIKE THAT! BUT IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT MOST OF MY DREAMS ARE VAGUE MEMORIES. OF THINGS THAT HAVE AND HAVEN’T HAPPENED.” He took a deep breath. “BROTHER. I KNOW ABOUT THE RESETS.”

You took a quick breath, almost a wheeze, as the room seemed to drop a few degrees. The shadows on the wall lengthened and Dings shot you a faintly alarmed look.

You were almost too busy to notice, caught up in watching Stretch. If the art had made him look terrifying, it was nothing compared to now. He had made the jump from relaxed to the tense form of a predator about to pounce in a fraction of a second.

“THAT. DIRTY. KID.” Stretch said, filling each word with vitriol. You sat like a deer in the headlights, not quite sure what to do. You were expecting some tears, maybe a bit of yelling, not murderous intent!

Stretch slid off the couch and you panicked, hastily balancing the plate on the couch arm. Hopefully, Chara decided to take their time in the Ruins, Stretch didn’t seem inclined to be friendly.

Then again, at a second glance to Stretch’s tense posture and the nearly invisible flickers of orange magic over his eye, you didn’t think staying in the Ruins would stop him.

Before you could launch yourself off the couch as some sort of human capture device, there was a soft ding and Stretch shook himself slightly, orange magic fading. A blue glow seemed to outline his form. You glanced back to Blueberry.

The weak smile had fallen away and so had the stars. Instead, Blueberry had their arms firmly crossed and a determined look on their face.

“I’M NOT GONNA LET YOU HURT CHARA.” He scolded. “THEY ARE OUR FRIEND! AND IT’S MY FAULT ANYWAYS, I SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU SOONER.”

“They killed ya.” Stretch hissed, hands making fists at his sides. Dings slid away from Blueberry’s side to settle down next you. You leaned into them slightly, grateful for the security.

“IT WASN’T THEM AND I HAVE FORGIVEN THEM FOR IT!” Blueberry said. “TRUTHFULLY I HAD KNOWN ABOUT THOSE RESETS FOR QUITE SOME TIME. BUT YOU ALWAYS SEEMED SO NERVOUS AND UNHAPPY ABOUT IT AND I DIDN’T WANT TO PRESSURE YOU EVEN FURTHER.”

A hiccup. You jumped slightly, frowning. Tears were sliding out of Blueberry’s eye sockets now. He roughly rubbed at them with the edge of his bandanna.

“IF I HADN’T BEEN SO AFRAID, I COULD HAVE HELPED YOU.” He said, his voice shaking. If you hadn’t been so concerned for Blueberry, you would have been impressed by how every bit of murderous intent seemed to leave Stretch in an instant, his posture relaxing and magic fading away. They both looked so lost.

Hey, this looked like the best time for intervening. Now or never, right? You slid off the couch and side stepped around Stretch to wrap your arms around Blueberry. “Hey hey, it’s okay. He knows now and you guys can work through this together.” You whispered soothingly. “You guys are brothers, no way this can mess up your mojo.”

Blueberry hiccuped slightly into your hoodie and you hummed, rubbing his back.

You nearly jumped out of your skin though when Stretch shuffled around to trap Blueberry and you by extension by a hug from the other side.

Unlike Blueberry’s cool warmth, Stretch is incredibly hot. It averaged out into something really nice to hold.

“Listen Sans.” Stretch said. You bit your bottom lip, willing yourself to stay quiet. “It’s not all your fault. I-I probably should have mentioned something sooner. Instead of expecting you to stay the same. I’m sorry bro.”

Blueberry twisted around to bonk his head against Stretch’s chest. “APOLOGY ACCEPTED! AND I’M SORRY FOR STAYING QUIET FOR SO LONG.” He said. You cooed as quietly as you could as the cuteness, detangling your arms from their gold and stepping back.

“I’m gonna give you guys some privacy right now.” You said. They probably had some big issues to hash out and it felt kind of scummy to hang around and eavesdrop.

“That, uh, might be best.” Stretch said, not taking his eyes off of Blueberry.

Ah jeez, if they got any more cute your SOUL shard might shatter again. Unable to handle the cuteness.

You hid a smile behind your hands, slipping out of the house as fast and quietly as you could. The fresh chill air was in sharp contrast to the warm air inside but now that you were dried out, it was almost tolerable.

A brief graze across your shoulder. “ **They’ll be okay. They’ve never been able to stay mad at each other for long.** ” Dings said solemnly. You glanced up into his dual colored eyes and nodded.

“Just wondering if I should have done it.” You said, jamming your hands into your hoodie pocket. Seeing them break down like that… maybe you should have stayed out of it and let them come to terms themselves.

Dings giggles. “ **Unlikely. As friendly as my brothers are, they are frankly terrible at talking about their issues. And this is coming from the one who’s been stuck in the Void for years. If you left them to it, the Multiverse would have ended before one of them talked.** ” This startled a matching giggle out of you.

“Okay, yeah I can see that.” You said, taking a deep breath. Both of them seemed world class at deflecting at least. You slid your phone out of your pocket and turned it on. Still at full battery. Woo!

Instead of wasting time in the apps like you did at first in the Anti Void, you clicked over to the notes app and started typing.

“ **What are you doing?** ” Dings asked, peering over your shoulder at your phone. You misclicked and cursed at the stupid auto correct, fingers already tapping away to fix your mistake.

“Making an entry about meeting you guys.” You said. “It’s just a conjecture but I have a feeling my life’s gonna get pretty crazy from now on. It’ll be nice to have a record, you know?”

You never wanted to forget this.

There. It was just a short quick entry. Fell into Underswap, met Blueberry and Stretch, and rescued princess Dings. You could flesh it out more later when you had time.

“ **Why am I marked as princess Dings.** ” Dings said, sounding curious. Your cheeks warmed as you nearly fumbled your phone again.

“I mean, I kinda rescued you from a spooky shadow place and you know, SOUL stuff.” You said, waving a hand. Oh god, maybe you shouldn’t have written that. At least while Dings was watching.

“ **Huh.** ” Dings said, tilting his head. “ **Would that make you my knight in shining armor?** ” 

You felt your cheeks warm even more, internally praying he would mark it down to the chill air. Probably not, you admitted, eyeing how his cheery grin was reminiscent of a cat who figured out how to open the bird cage. “Y-yeah sure, I guess you could say that.” You said cautiously.

Dings’ grin widened impossibly more as he slung an arm around your shoulder. “ **Delightful.** ” He said, sounding way too entertained by the prospect.

You had a feeling that your life getting crazier may or may not be your fault.

Then again, you thought looking down at your phone, if it involved more cute skeletons, it may be worth it.

Doesn’t mean you weren’t going to curse at Lady Luck a few times but still.

As if Lady Luck heard that, you choked, suddenly running out of air as something tightened around your throat. The air seemed to crackle and hum with electricity.

Wow. Drama queen much? You had to admit though, thinking in those terms really helped the instinctive bolt of terror as you briefly flashed back to your near death. Hard to be afraid of a drama queen and it made Error sound so adorable.

You wheezed as the strings around your throat loosened, hand coming up to massage your throat as the other slipped your phone back into your pocket. “You couldn’t have waited until I was, like, alone in the woods or something instead of right on Stretch and Blueberry’s doorstep?” You said. Dings slipped his arm away from your neck, hovering over your shoulder.

Error scoffed, hovering in midair. You squinted at his strings. How were they staying up like that? It looked like he was comfortably sitting on them right now like a hammock/swing thing, but that shouldn’t quite be possible.

You shook yourself out of it. Right. Magic. Also you kinda had bigger things to focus on right now.

You wonder if asking about how his strings work counts as second base.

“ ~~I’m disappointed. I thought there would be a lot more screaming and crying.~~ ” Error says, half to you and half to nobody. He stared off past you as if he could hear the conversation going on inside, which he probably could.

Also, was his voice different now? It definitely sounded a lot fuzzier and echoey, just glitchier in general now that he was out of the Anti Void. Was that some sort of magical effect?

You pushed your shoulders back, careful not to make a noise when you brushed up against Dings who hovered over you. “Sorry to leave you _hanging_ ” You said. Error chuckled.

“ ~~Good one~~.” He said. “ ~~But I expect more action and drama next time~~.” He warned. You shrugged.

“I’ll channel my inner soap opera.” You said grinning cheekily. “Full on faint into somebody’s arms. Lamentation about lost loves. Does Blueberry or Stretch have an evil twin?” You continued. There was a tiny, nearly squashed, snort from behind you. Jackpot!

“ ~~Die a horrific death~~?” Error continued with a grin. You squashed your flinch. It seemed relatively friendly at least. 

“Have everyone wailing about how I had so much to live for. Full on family grudges and revenge schemes. Reveal that I somehow survived as a cyborg clone ghost who was trained as an assassin.” You said, struggling to maintain a serious face. Another snort from Dings.

Surprise briefly crossed Error’s face. “ ~~You watch Undernovela~~?”

Wait, woah woah what? Your serious face slid off and you stared at Error. “Wait, that was actually used? That’s a thing?” 

How do you get hooked up with this? This sounded AMAZING.

“ ~~Anyway~~.” Error said, completely glossing over your question. “ ~~Since you survived this time, it’s time I threw you into another AU~~.” 

You squinted at him. “You gonna tell me which one it is this time or watch me stumble around?” His wide grin told you everything. “Fine. I see how it is.”

“ **Don’t poke the bear.** ” Dings advises. Ha! Poke the bear! You would _never!_

Ha ha. Ha.

Error completely ignored you apparently because the air in front of you fuzzed, error signs briefly flashing before revealing darkness.

The Void again?

No, you could see some color. It was just really dark there. You stepped closer, squinting to try and pick out some detail from the shadows.

Then there was weight pressing on your back and you were unceremoniously shoved through. You could hear glitchy howling laughter. Three guesses on who got impatient and the first two don’t count.

You stumbled, tripping over your own feet and landing face first on the ground.

For a second, underneath the softer glitchy laughter and the background static of the portal, you thought you could hear someone yelling something. Weird.

Before you could listen further and puzzle it out, the background static faded away. Looks like you were stuck in a new world now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a little longer! Hope you enjoyed and please comment/kudos/or bookmark if you did! I try to respond to every comment as best as I can. ^.^
> 
> Also, feel free to guess the next AU!


	5. Making some Alterations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a little while! My muse decided to distract me with a crate of plot bunnies and do a runner. Hope this chapter makes up for it!

You sneezed and sat up, rubbing at your face. You could see pollen and crushed petals surrounded you like a halo through squinted eyes. Chilly skeletal hands gently pulled your hands away, Dings scrutinizing your face and you miserably failed to fight down your blush.

“ **Careful! Buttercups are poisonous to humans. Crushed petals on skin shouldn't be too horrific, but in your condition, we should be really careful.** ” Dings said. You winced, mind flashing instantly to Chara. Or well, Frisk would’ve been it in Dings’ AU. Was he around during that time?

Finally Dings pulled back and you shoved the macabre thoughts out of your mind. “Hey, I thought you were the princess in distress and I the dashing knight.” You teased, gently pushing his hands away.

“ **Sorry for besmirching your honor.** ” Dings said. You giggled. Besmirched? Really? “ **But we have more pressing matters to deal with.** ” 

“Yeah.” You sighed, leaning back on your hands. “Like figuring out where Error put me this time.” You snuck him a look. “I'm glad you came along. I was worried you'd be left behind in Underswap or dumped back into the Void.”

“ **I, ah, agree. It would have been quite the disappointment.** ” Dings said. You switched to one hand in order to playfully smack him on the shoulder.

“Don't worry, I would have gone full on knight and break into the Void again to rescue you.” You said. Dings flushed, almost seeming to curl further in his cloak like a shy turtle. You valiantly resisted the urge to tackle hug him.

“ **Don't worry about it friend, it seems like it won't happen. Anyway, as these are buttercups, we can cross out Underlust and a few of the stranger AUs.** ” Dings said, glancing away from you. You squinted at him, suspicion growing. That seemed like quite the deflection to you.

But then again, you didn't want to push him too far. Best leave him to it for now. “I'm not the best judge. But this seems darker than the starting point for Undertale.” You said. Dings nodded, a touch hurried. “But I don't see any dust.” 

“ **That cuts out the worse AUs. But not all of them.** ” Dings said. You squashed the tiny bolt of fear, leaning in closer.

“I'm not worried. I've got princess Dings here to help me!” You said, smothering a giggle. The blush returned, violently blue and orange. Still pursing your lips, you climbed back to your feet, rubbing the stray petals from your hands onto your pants. Thankfully, the Ruins held a mild sort of warmth, which you gladly welcomed after Snowdin. Chasing out the last of the chill. “Now if I was a SOUL shard, where would I be?”

“ **With the nearest skeleton in distress?** ” Dings teased, already on his feet. He was, you were unhappy to admit, unfairly taller than you. It completely ruined the seriousness of your pout and foot stomp, though they weren't serious in the beginning at all. It didn't stop the silly grin you got not five seconds late either.

“Hey! It can be in tons of places! Like, I don't know, Grillby’s, or Toriel’s house, or maybe at New Home!” You said. Dings crossed his arms. 

“ **You have been to one AU and already you seem to have formed a pattern.** ” Dings said. You crossed your arms as well, two could play at this game.

“Pretty sure one AU doesn't make a pattern.” You mean, yeah you only met the three skeletons and maybe Error could be counted as part of the pattern, but that didn't mean anything!

For a skeleton, Dings was very good at conveying the are you sure eyebrow raise. You relented, glancing away. “Okay, maybe there might be a bit of a pattern going.” It's not like that was a bad thing. You were happy to meet the AU skeletons!

“ **I'm happy you acknowledge it at least..** ” Dings said. You would have elbowed him if it wasn't for the teasing look in his eyes. Instead you unfolded your arms and turned away, heading towards the door to the Ruins. 

“We have more important things to worry about.” You said stiffly. You'd have to get him back later. “I thought you weren't a scientist?”

Now that you thought about it, it did seem a bit odd. He wore the cloak of the Riverperson but then how would he have fallen into the Void? Wouldn't it be swapped?

“ **I was not. I did go to science classes however and even attended alongside my dear friend Dr. River. But I eventually decided the science life wasn't for me and took the job to be the ferryman. I got to spend more time with my brothers too!** ” Dings said. You hesitated just before the doorway making a wave towards him, half glancing over your shoulder.

“If you don't mind me asking, how did you fall in the Void?” You said, biting your lip. Something unfamiliar slid across Dings’ face but it was gone in a second as he slowly relaxed.

“ **It’s okay.** ” He said. A wry grin appeared. “ **Bad luck and bad timing. Dr. River wanted to show off his newest creation and well, I'm sure you can piece together the Core breakdown.** ” You winced again, feeling ashamed of your question already.

“Sorry for asking.” You said. Dings patted your shoulder.

“ **I’m fine really. I’ve had plenty of time to think about it after all. And now I’m free!** ” He said cheerily.

 _And you always will be if I have any say in it_ , you thought fiercely. And if you didn't have any say, than you’d simply make it so you do. Dings wasn't going back there any time soon.

That decision was enough to bout you past the slightly forbidden entrance. The hallway was considerably bright, hidden light sources reveal smooth purple brick walls. No dust in sight. You breathed a sigh of relief.

Maybe Error was going for a jump scare esque reveal but it didn't look like a murdery AU so far. Or a Genocide run.

And no demented flower in sight. Which debatably, could be good or bad. On one hand, you had already been strangled recently and could safely say you didn’t want to repeat the experience. On the other, the flower could have given you a hint as to where you were now.

“ **The child must have already passed through.** ” Dings said. You nodded slowly, one hand reaching out to graze along the wall. “ **We should move fast.** ” 

“Any reason for the hurry?” You asked. You didn’t see any dust as you strolled along despite how quiet it was. It was downright peaceful.

“ **I’d rather you not come into contact with any possibly violent monsters yet. The delicacy of your SOUL shard and HP issues would not end well.** ” Dings said solemnly. You winced, other hand going to your chest. Yeah, a fight would not end well for you. Sans could pull off one HP but he was a teleporting ninja with laser skulls. He got plenty of room for error.

It did bring up the question why Error didn’t just dump you in Underfell and let the AU do its work. Were you really that interesting? 

You sighed, resisting the urge to rub your forehead. “I guess we’ll just have to take it one step at a time.” Maybe you could pull a Frisk and fast talk the monsters into stopping? Hopefully after meeting Frisk/Chara/whoever it was, they’d be more willing to let you slide and you just wouldn’t have to deal with it.

A few steps. A clattering of rocks. You stiffened, freezing up in the middle of the corridor. Was this how it felt when you walked down the path to Snowden and met Sans? 

You could say it was fucking creepy at least.

“ **Human. Friend. What luck gods do you piss off?** ” Dings said drily. You flushed, gesturing violently.

“Hey! It’s not my fault I just can’t contain my awesomeness and it draws every monster in like moths to light!” You insisted, trying for humor. Your mind was already busily churning over how the noise could have come a vicious human hating monster, oh god what if this was Horrortale? Or it actually was Underfell?

“ **I’m pretty sure the title of most awesome go-** ” You felt a cold skeletal hand yank you back. “ **MOVE!** ”

You jerked back with him, barely shifting out of the way of a swarm of glowing white fireflies. Oh shit. Oh goooods, Dings was right, Lady Luck had it out for you.

You deflated a bit though when you saw your opponent though. “A Froggit. I’m possibly going to be dusted by a Froggit.” You has standards and losing to a beginning monster didn’t count!

...Would you come back like Frisk does? Or would it be one shot and done?

Dings yanked you out of your fog, pulling you out of the way of another attack and you bit your lip, thinking on your feet. “Hey, what’s with the fighting?” You said, holding your hands up in the universal sign for unarmed. Dings took a step back, taking their hand off of your shoulder.

It was almost comforting, feeling the chill of their presence against your back.

The Froggit shifted for foot to foot. “Ribbit _Another human? How strange._ ” You shivered, feeling pain pulse at your temples. It was incredibly weird to hear two overlapping voice saying different things. Wow, did everyone have to speak oddly in Undertale?

“I just want to pass through! Nobody has to get hurt!” You insisted. How did Frisk do this in the game?

The Froggit didn’t answer this time, spitting out another bug swarm. You yelped, ducking another bug and then hurriedly twisting yourself to the right to avoid the next swarm of bugs. “ **Up!** ” You didn’t even question it, jumping up just as a few bugs buzzed under your feet.

It was your turn? Kind of? The Froggit has paused at least, watching you. You wracked your brains, trying to remember. Wiggle? No that wasn’t it. Maybe croaking back? 

“Ribbit _Tax benefits_ ” You flush, hearing a tiny shaky snort from Dings. The Froggit looked confused.

“Ribbit rib _Are you okay?_ ” They asked. You flushed darker. 

“Ribbit ribbit _Waffles!_ ” Another snort from Dings. Screw him, your Froggit was perfect! You totally meant to say that. You were trying to use the glory of, uh, taxes and waffles!

The Froggit hopped a step back, spitting out a few flies. You stepped to the side, easily dodging the lazy swarm now. Were you winning? Could you use Mercy or something soon? “Ribbit? _Guess Blue?_ ” You tried.

To their credit, the Froggit looked concerned for you now. “Ribbit _I think you’ve spent too much time in the sun. I’ve heard that that can cause sickness._ ” The Froggit said. It was kind of funny how gravely they said sickness.

You slumped slightly, putting your hands in your pockets. “Yeah, I’m not very good at it.” You said. You were trying your hardest!

“ **You weren’t doing that bad.** ” Dings said cheerily. You scowled in his general direction, resisting the urge to stick your tongue out. He just enjoyed the laughter. Dings didn’t have the same self control, cheekily sticking his tongue out at you.

Ooh, you were so getting him back for that later. Somehow. You’d figure something out. You were drawn back to the Froggit by a soft coughing croak.

Yeah, you probably didn’t seem the sanest right now. But who cares? You had to be a little bit crazy to have fun!

“Ribbit ribbi _I should take you to the Caretaker. They might be able to help_.” The Froggit said. You perked up at that.

You could finally get a good sense of where you were! You didn’t want to draw too much attention but meeting Toriel or Asgore would really help! Maybe they even knew where your SOUL shard was? Something like that had to be noticeable.

You nodded vigorously, not trusting your voice. The Froggit turned and hopped away, with you and Dings close behind.

Now that you had time though, something about that fight niggled at you. You glanced to the side at Dings. “So why didn’t the fight pull my SOUL out?” You asked in a low whisper.

Dings smiles cheerily. “ **The Froggit was mostly curious and wasn’t really trying to fight. Intention in magic is everything. Without the intention to fight, the magic can still sting but it wouldn’t pull your SOUL into combat.** ” Dings said.

You nodded slowly. That was pretty cool! “So the Froggit just saw me and decided to throw some magic around to get to know me better?” You said. Dings smiled even more brightly.

“ **Yep!** ” He said. You raised a hand to cover up your ridiculous smile, smothering the urge to coo at his happy face. You willed your face to calm and probably didn’t do a half bad job. Hopefully.

The rest of the walk was quiet, save for the occasional clattering of rocks or scraping along the wall. Once, you thought you saw a tiny Froggit zoom back into a crack in the wall.

It was also, sadly puzzle free, which was fascinating. There was multiple paths through the Ruins? The game hadn’t shown any of this! Guess that was how Toriel managed to sneak past you and get back to her house so quickly. 

The Froggit stopped in front of a lush tree. You squinted at the tree suspiciously. You could have sworn that in Undertale, that tree was dying. But it looked like it had plenty of life in it yet here.

“Ribbt _I have other tasks and the Caretaker prefers to be left alone at times. You’ll have to take it yourself from here._ ” Froggit said, glancing back at you. You offered it a shy smile.

“Ribber _Whole wheat_!” You said, wincing slightly on the last word. The Froggit grinned back, quickly hopping past you and into the shadowy corridors. 

“Ribbit _Good luck and goodbye human!_ ” It called back, voice echoing slightly oddly.

“Ribb _Good night!_ ” Actually, pretty close to what you wanted to say! You were getting to be a pro at this frog language. Just a bit slowly.

You turned back to the suspiciously living tree. Looks like you were alone again, except for the technically dead and not dead friend tagging along.

“Looks like it’s gonna be Geronimo and all that.” You said, glancing to Dings. It was just Toriel right? That shouldn’t be too complicated. Dings sent you a thumbs up.

“ **If it makes you feel better, it takes a lot of work to break a timeline!** ” Dings chirped cheerily. You paused, mulling that over.

“Actually, weirdly enough, I do feel better hearing that.” You said cautiously. Was that a good thing? Destruction seemed like it would be not a good thing.

Well, you could debate the intricacies all you wanted, but the door was going to be there forever. Might as well get it over with and deal with any consequences.

You square your shoulders, and walked up to the plain unassuming door. 

One knock. Two knocks.

On the third, it slid open and you nearly punched the person inside.

Reflexively, you pulled back your fist before it could connect, wobbling slightly. “Oh god, I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to!” You said. Then froze, mouth falling open slightly.

Fucking. Altertale. Sans.

You could practically feel Dings’ mildly judging stare burning through your shoulder blades.

“Oh! Are you alright? I wasn’t expecting another human to come through!” Sans said. His voice was sweeter than Blueberry’s but had a deeper more mellow undertone. And that wasn’t the only change.

He wore a slightly darker shade of Toriel’s robes but hooded, and with longer sleeves. The symbol on the front looked slightly changed, the wings a bit bigger and the positions moved slightly. And he was taller than Blueberry too!

It was a bit bizarre but actually kind of adorable. He really rocked the robe.

“Human?” He asked. You jumped slightly, lost in your own world.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, I wasn’t expecting to see someone like you!” Then flushed because wow that came off ruder than you intended. “I mean, not that skeletons are bad or anything! I mean makes sense, you find skeletons in tombs so why not Ruins and wow, I should be quiet instead of shoving my foot in my mouth.” You said sheepishly.

If Sans was put off by your mild ramble, he didn’t show it. In fact, he almost looked more relaxed now, the warm smile less fixed.

“I assure you, it’s not a problem. It’s not like there’s a _skeleton_ of us skeletons around.” He said, hand coming up to cover his mouth slightly.

You side eyed Dings. _Yeah, you’re a bit wrong on your skeleton count_ , you thought wryly. Not like he would know that though.

“Heh, pretty humerus joke you got there.” You said automatically, winking. Sans actually did laugh this time, shoulders shaking.

“That’s a good one!” He said. You grinned in triumph.

“Yeah, it takes some real _skull_ to reach my punning levels of awesomeness.” You said. If anything, this bet was going to be great for your punning skills!

Sans wheezed harder. “Yeah, I can see how much work you have put in. Takes some real guts! Not that I would know.” He said. You blinked owlishly before the joke hit and you giggled.

“Yeah, I can see how that’s a real problem for you!” You said. Sans stepped back.

“You’d probably have a long road behind you. We should include this conversation inside.” He said. You didn’t miss how his eyelights looked over your shoulder. Maybe checking for other monsters hunting for humans?

“If you’re okay with that! Don’t want to invade your home. It’s kind of rude.” You said. Sans shook his head.

“It’s fine with me. Please, come in.” He said, taking another step back so you could walk by.

It was odd seeing a house that was Toriel’s but also so obviously Sans. The basic lay out was hers, and the furniture was the same, but yet it was Sans’ as well. The infamous joke book was lying in the armchair, a crazy striped sock shoved into the corner next to it. It was messier too, a few more books scattered over the floor. One was shoved under the table leg, tilting it for some reason. Another robe like the one Sans was wearing had been thrown over the table.

You could even see a sprinkle covered pet rock tucked into the corner.

Even with the mess, it still felt kind of cozy. You felt like you could sprawl on the floor and just relax for a while.

But you didn’t have a while. You had around a month.

Sans bustled around the room, though not removing any of the mess. Just kind of nudging thing around. “Make yourself at home.” He said. “I need to get something from my room.”

And with that, he was down the hallway, ducking into the room with colored light coming out of the bottom door crack.

“ **It’s odd seeing my brother like this** ” Dings said. “ **I knew they existed but it’s still odd to see in person.** ” 

“I feel you.” You said, scrunching up your face. They were similar but Blueberry and Altertale were nothing like each other at the same time. And definitely not the same as Error.

You wandered into the kitchen, leaving Dings to poke around the living room, and set about to He ancient task of snooping. The cabinets were filled with groceries and you found a quiche in the fridge.

Score! In the bottom drawer was a slightly dusty box of chocolate bars. You dusted off one and slid it into your hoodie pocket. 

Error was a jerk but he was a jerk who liked chocolate and you kind of wanted to thank him for the whole not killing you thing. 

You wandered back into the living room as Sans came out, carefully shutting their bedroom door behind him. “Alright. So what brings you to this place anyways? Are you looking for Frisk?” He asked.

“It’s gonna be a bit of a long story.” You started. Behind Sans, Dings looked at you incredulously. 

“ **I feel like this is a good time to say I told you so. There is a pattern.** ” Dings said. Okay, maybe he was right. Maybe.

He was going to rub this in your face forever, wasn’t he?

Back to the important stuff. Where to start? Should you mention the Error thing? You didn’t tell Blueberry that though. Sans might not take any of it well.

“You could try starting in the middle if the beginning is too difficult.” Sans offered kindly, seeing the indecision on your face. You nodded slowly.

“So. Seen any SOUL shards around?” You said finally.

Dings hit the ground, wheezing with laughter and you flushed as Sans stared at you. Well. This just got pretty awkward real quick. You probably could have worded that better.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this! Leave a comment, bookmark, or kudos if you do! 
> 
> If you liked this, go check out The Glitch by the wonderful LazyRainDancer!
> 
> For those who want to know what the blue string necklace looks like, check out the link! It’s similar to this but without a knot and made of glowing blue string. A large loop of string twisted to make smaller loops.
> 
> https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b9/6c/69/b96c696da07adc5eed62ba725eac7a7c.jpg
> 
> Also, guess who’s gonna be your second skelly friend? One hint. It’s not Undertale Sans.


End file.
